March 31, 2011

Yankees stadium enters third year, Bronx ballfields still months off

On Opening Day for the New York Yankees, the New York Times today takes a look at how the new ballfields on the site of the old Yankee Stadium are coming along ... or not:

Next to the stadium is a lingering eyesore — a protracted construction project that was supposed to have been transformed into three public ball fields months ahead of opening day. Instead, some coaches and neighborhood residents say, it remains a joyless Mudville...

"We've gone five years now with no ball fields here," said Sean Sullivan, 55, the principal of All Hallows and a coach of its baseball team, which has spent five years scouring the city for home fields. 'They took the parks away from my kids, and now our team is a bunch of gypsies."

None of this is really news — the park opening date was officially pushed back to Fall 2011 three years ago — but it's still worth a read. Especially for Yankees president Randy Levine's classic double entendre: "I cannot tell you how many people have come up to me to say thank you because the broken-down parks have been replaced." Meaning... you know, maybe we should see if his car is still there.