Bronx Activists Warn Queens Residents To Be Wary Of Proposed Major League Soccer Flushing Park Stadium Deal

Been There Seen That. Bronx community activist Mary Blassingame, seen photographed at Heritage Field, opposed the new Yankee Stadium park land swap. She is warning Queens residents to be wary of Major League Soccer’s proposed stadium deal in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

The Bloomberg administration and NY State elected officials allowed the country's wealthiest sports team - the NY Yankees - to seize 25. 3 acres of public parkland in the South Bronx. Besides losing two ballfields, and having replacement park features scattered to multiple locations in the end the community also lost acres of parkland that were never replaced.  (Photo: James Kiev/New York Daily News)

Bronx/Queens 

This cautionary Bronx tale is one to avoid repeating.

Bronx activists had some advice on Tuesday for Queens: Keep your precious park land and ignore the stadium sweet talk, according to the New York Daily News. 

Major League Soccer said it’s close to hammering out a deal with the city to build a $300 million stadium on up to 13 acres in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. But the plan is reminiscent of a Yankee Stadium land deal that “shortchanged” the Bronx, local activist Mary Blassingame said.

“This is Yankee Stadium all over again,” she said. “They need to fight against it. Parks are for the people ... not for business.”

City officials begged to differ.

“As anyone who’s been to Heritage Field across from Yankee Stadium would say, it’s a stunning example of public space that has been widely celebrated by local residents and parks advocates alike,” said Mayor’s Office spokeswoman Lauren Passalacqua.

Blassingame, a former Bronx Community Board 4 member, was a vocal opponent of the 2005 deal that allowed the Yankees to build a new stadium on 22 acres in Mullaly Park. The Bronx Bombers promised the new venue would create local jobs and business and the city vowed to replace the green space with new parks elsewhere.

But the area near the stadium is still struggling and it took the city six years to complete the new parks, which are top-of-the-line but scattered, Blassingame said.

“We got shortchanged all the way and now it’s going to happen again,” Blassingame predicted.

City and MLS officials vowed that Queens won’t get jipped.

“Should a deal be reached, we look forward to engaging community groups and other stakeholders as it goes through the public approvals process,” Passalacqua said.

MLS would be required to replace any park land used in Flushing Meadows. It would also be required to make certain improvements, such as upgrading existing soccer fields, before the stadium can open, a city official said.

But Queens activists fear this could result in small chunks of scattered green space.

“Ten pocket parks an acre each don’t equal 10 acres together,” said Will Sweeney of the Fairness Coalition of Queens, which is concerned about the collective impact of an MLS stadium, a U.S. Tennis Association expansion and a mall plan near Citi Field.

“They’ll promise you the moon when they ask for approval,” Sweeney said.

“But the reality ... is much different.”

MLS officials confirmed Tuesday that the league is eyeing a site at Flushing River and an abandoned rail line in Rego Park, among other sites, for replacement park space.

“We are committed to replacing every inch of park land, acre for acre in a timely manner,” MLS spokeswoman Risa Heller said.

“The end result may be a combination of large, contiguous parcels and smaller parcels embedded in the community.”

Heller stressed that the league plans to involve the community in the planning process. But at least one of the potential sites raised eyebrows.

“The land they’re currently talking about on Flushing River is toxic,” said an elected official who asked not to be named. “So how would that be cleaned up?”

MLS officials said the Queens stadium will be privately financed, unlike Yankee Stadium, which received hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies.

The Bronx Bombers made similar claims during early negotiations, said Neil DeMause, co-author of “Field of Schemes,” a book on modern stadium deals.

“History makes it reasonable for New Yorkers to look at this proposal with skepticism,” he said.

Read More:

Bronx activists warn Queens to be wary of soccer stadium deal
Proposed Major League Soccer venue reminiscent of Yankee Stadium park land deal that ‘shortchanged’ locals, critics say; but MLS vows to replace ‘every inch of park land’ 
New York Daily News - October 10, 2012 - By Clare Trapasso And Daniel Beekman

Proposed MLS Stadium Raising "a lot of concerns" For USTA In Flushing Meadows Park

A Walk In The Park - October 9, 2012 

'Toxic' Site Eyed As Replacement Parkland For MLS Soccer

Flushing Meadows Stadium Proposal

A Walk In The Park - October 9,  2012

MLS Unveils Plans To Seize Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Land For Soccer Stadium

A Walk In The Park - October 6, 2012 

Keep It Green - Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Debate

A Walk In The Park - October 5, 2012 

More Protests Over Proposed Commercial Development In Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

A Walk In The Park - October 5, 2012 

New Details Emerge In USTA Proposed Flushing Meadows Corona Park Seizure

A Walk In The Park - October 4, 2012 

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Neglected & Under Siege

A Walk In The Park - October 2,  2012 

Community Protests Three Flushing Meadow-Corona Park Commercial Proposals

A Walk In The Park - September 20, 2012 

Major League Soccer Pushing For Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Land

A Walk In The Park - September 15, 2012 -  By Geoffrey Croft 

EDC Willets Point Mall Development Project Plans To Take Parkland Without Alienating It

A Walk In The Park - July 31, 2012

Flushing Meadows Park Alienation Fight-Mayor's Willets Point

Plan Uses Parkland For Shopping Center

A Walk In The Park - June 23, 2012

Illegal Vender Attacks Female Park Security At Heritage Field

Bronx

By Geoffrey Croft

Two Parks Department female security officers assigned to the brand new Heritage Field Park across from Yankee Stadium were assaulted by an Illegal vendor, A Walk In The Park has learned.

The City Seasonal Aid (CSA) park security employees observed a known Illegal vender, Delbert Delvalle, 20, selling water in the park without a permit arround 4:30 pm according to city sources. They informed him he could not sell water in the park and told him to leave but he refused. An altercation ensued. He became violent and began punching and scratching the officers. He threw one of the officers to the ground and began kicking her.

The other officer called in a 1013 - "officer needs assistance" over the radio.

"He's kicking her, He's kicking her," a female voice crackled over the radio according to park personnel.

The assailant grabbed her radio and began running away. While the officers were in pursuit he threw the radio at them and ran towards the Major Deegan Expressway where he disappeared.

Delvalle's mother arrived a short time later in the park and attempted to pick up her son's unsold water but was denied.

The park employees were taken to Lincoln Hospital where a 30 year-old officer was treated for a contusion to the right knee and a 40-year-old officer was treated for a bruised lower back. They both sustained multiple scratches. They were both released.

The officers will receive at least three days off.

While in the 44 Pct. filing out paperwork the alleged assailant and his father came in. Delvalle was promptly arrested. At the Pct. he stated that he was pi-polar and he felt sick. He was brought to Lincoln Hospital.

He was charged with Assault and Disorderly Conduct according to the Police.

There is not a single dedicated PEP officer available to patrol the Bronx's more than 7000 acres of parkland.

There have been a number of violent incidents over the 24 hours in city parks including two shootings A Walk In the Park has learned.

Last week a CSA was assaulted in Midland Beach.

Five Years Later Bronx Residents Still Waiting For Ball fields

With a day to go before opening day at Yankee Stadium, baseball fields between 157th and 161st Streets were still under construction, almost five years after the community's fields began to be seized to build the new stadium. (Photo: Caleb Ferguson for The New York Times)
Bronx

On Thursday, the New York Yankees began their regular season at Yankee Stadium, a gleaming $1.5 billion behemoth that opened in the Bronx in 2009 as the new home of one of the richest franchises in sports.

But 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, according to the New York Times.

Just as the new stadium was enveloped in controversy, from its financing to its ticket prices, the construction of the three fields has also prompted debate.

The city promised to build the fields, which are starting to take shape directly across 161st Street to the south of the stadium, to replace others that were bulldozed in 2006 to make way for the stadium.

The razed fields, in Macombs Dam Park, were the only regulation baseball diamonds nearby, and were home to neighborhood pickup games and youth leagues, and to teams from schools like All Hallows High School, a parochial institution several blocks away.

Doyle Partners/SantecA rendering of the construction plans for Heritage Park, a city park under development next to Yankee Stadium.

“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.”

The team, which played part of its 2009 season in Staten Island, is still searching for a site for its league opener on April 7.

The fields were originally to be completed late last year, as the centerpiece of Heritage Field, a 10-acre park where the former Yankee Stadium stood. But the groundbreaking was delayed until last June, and city officials now say the fields will not open until fall 2011.

“They built the new stadium in record time, but building replacement parkland for the community is literally dragging,” said Helen Foster, who represents the neighborhood on the City Council. “I guarantee you if this was another neighborhood, this project would have been fast-tracked.”

Geoffrey Croft, a frequent critic of the parks department, found fault with the parkland project as shortchanging local residents by putting the new stadium on what was a large, contiguous parcel of natural space, only to replace that property with “scattered and inferior” parks with much less vegetation and natural growth, more artificial surfaces and fewer ball fields.

Ms. Foster and other critics blamed city officials for the Heritage Field delays, saying they allowed the old stadium to remain intact long after the team’s final season there, so items could be painstakingly removed for sale as memorabilia.

Adrian Benepe, the city’s parks commissioner, said the delays were a result of various complications, including tightened restrictions on dismantling the old stadium, problems with nearby subway lines and, recently, the particularly cold and snowy winter. He acknowledged that there had been “some inconvenience to the neighborhood” but said that the delays were “not unusual for a complicated project like this.”

“We’re really making an effort to make this a first-rate park,” he said, “as good as any in the city.”

Mr. Benepe said that the sod for the fields would be installed within a month and that progress on the park, which runs along the west side of River Avenue, was “going like gangbusters now.”

“When people look back they don’t say, ‘Did it take longer than we thought?’ ” he said. “They say, ‘Did it deliver what it promised?’ ”

To build the new stadium, more than 22 acres of parkland were cleared, including Macombs Dam Park and a portion of John Mullaly Park. The property included several ball fields – city officials say four, residents insist it was five.

Heritage Field, a $51 million project, is part of a redevelopment of parkland around the stadium that the city was required to undertake by state law, to replace more than 20 acres of parkland taken for the new stadium. Most of the other projects have been completed.

The effort also included creating or renovating eight smaller parks, ranging from a skateboard area on River Road to Mill Pond Park, a 10-acre waterfront expanse near the Harlem River with 16 championship-caliber tennis courts, a beach, a seasonal ice rink, and a tennis and skate house. Adjacent to Heritage Field is the new Macombs Dam Park, with a sprawling field for football and soccer, a 400-meter track, fitness equipment, a grandstand, four basketball courts and eight handball courts.

The full price of the replacement parks is $195 million, far more than the 2005 estimate of $116 million, according to a 2009 report conducted the city’s Independent Budget Office. City officials said the extra costs resulted from unanticipated environmental cleanup, rising construction costs and project expansions.

Ms. Foster accused the Yankees of doing little to help local residents in one of the poorest parts of the country. “There’s this perception in this area that the Yankees’ needs come before everyone else’s,” she said.

A Yankees spokeswoman said the team donated $10 million to the parks replacement project in 2010, and gave $5.6 million worth of donations – including ballpark events, tickets and merchandise – to various Bronx organizations. The team also helped provide buses for local schools, including All Hallows, in 2009, she said.

Yankees officials said on Wednesday that neighborhood residents have reacted to the parks project in largely positive ways.

“I cannot tell you how many people have come up to me to say thank you because the broken-down parks have been replaced,” said Randy Levine, the team president.

Mr. Sullivan, the All Hallows principal and coach, is still a Yankees fan. Though he has no home field for the school’s team for yet another season, his office is full of Yankees memorabilia, and he has high hopes this year for his team, anchored by an ace pitcher, James Norwood, a heavily scouted right-handed senior.

“I hoped the Yankees could have thrown the kids some tickets and made them feel important during all this,” he said. “I guess we’re just little fish in the big ocean.”

Read More:

In Shadow of Yankee Stadium, 3 Unfinished Ball Fields

New York Times - March 31, 2011 - By Corey Kilgannon

Unfortunately More Spin From City Officials

- By Geoffrey Croft

Adrian Benepe's boss, Mayor Bloomberg was finally forced to admit the building of the three ballfields were delayed in part by the Yankee memorabilia issue. In his final Mayoral debate with Comptroller Thompson held on October 27, 2009, the mayor was asked about the replacement parks and the delays.At first he said attempted to down play it, "It has taken a little longer than we planned, " a minute later however when pressed he folded, "It has taken a lot longer - they were a few environmental issues and then the Yankees took a long time in selling off the memorabilia. I don't know how many people wanted to buy seats but apparently a lot of them did."

What he forgot to do was take responsibility for this, or mention that the NY Mets began taking down its stadium the day after their season ended.

In June 2005, without a single public hearing, city and state elected officials transferred 25.3 acres of historic South Bronx parkland to allow the New York Yankees to build a new stadium.As part of this action, the Bloomberg and Pataki administrations and the Yankees organization promised the community not only that the parks would be replaced, but also that even more parkland would be provided in return. As our 2008 Broken Promises report clearly shows, a close examination reveals that only 21.8 of the 25.3 acres are actually being replaced in the community, resulting in a net loss of nearly 4 acres.

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and EDC have repeatedly attempted to hide this deficiency as well as the serious delays in building replacement facilities - some up to three years. This is particularly abhorrent considering the location, the South Bronx, one of America's poorest communities. And this is only the beginning of the broken promises.

Also it was Helen Foster, who now accuses the Yankees of doing little to help local residents, who sponsored the legislation which allowed the Yankees to seize the 25.3 acres of public parkland. At the end on the day ,when everything is built the community will have lost 4 acres of parkland in the community and including two ballfields. As hard as this administration tries, there is no escaping the truth. Yes the Yankee finally agreed to contribute a paltry $ 10 million for replacement parks while over the last two years the new stadium raked in $ 779 million just from the sale of tickets and luxury suites alone.

This has always been a real estate deal plain and simply. The city handed more than 25 acres of historic parkland so the wealthiest sports franchise in America could make billions on the backs of the country's poorest. The American way. This entire project has been about broken promises. Unfortunately they continue.

The Yankees Win. The Yankees Win.

Ground Finally Broken at Heritage Field - Spin Continues

Savulich/News

June 29, 2010. Shovel-wielders at Heritage Field include Joba Chamberlain (4th from left), GM Brian Cashman (to right of hurler) and, next to him, Randy Levine and Ruben Diaz Jr. (2nd from r.). Officials finally broke ground on the long delayed building of Heritage Field. The fields were supposed to be completed by 2010. A recently opened skate park was three years behind schedule. City officials are now claiming they are replacing 32 acres of parkland as part of the building for the New Yankee Stadium, when in fact only 22 acres are being replaced in the community.

Bronx

City officials on Tuesday participated in the groundbreaking of Heritage Field, the new baseball diamond making up part of the redevelopment of parkland around Yankee Stadium in the South Bronx, according to The Epoch Times.

The field is an 11-acre development, headed by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the city's Department of Parks and Recreation, which follows the year-long deconstruction of the old Yankee Stadium as well as other delays that lasted several years. Heritage Field is expected to be completed by late 2011.

When the project is completed, there will be three baseball fields.

In order for the new Yankee Stadium to be constructed, city officials took over 25 acres of park space in the Bronx and under parks regulations, the city had to provide an equivalent amount of space in return.

The city claims that 32 acres of parkland, which includes Heritage Field, Macombs Dam Park, Mill Pond Park, River Avenue Parks, and Ruppert Plaza, will ultimately be developed.

“Today marks a significant milestone in the ongoing revitalization of the South Bronx,” said NYCEDC President Seth W. Pinsky. “As promised, we completed the demolition of the old stadium in June, safely and on-budget."

City officials say that the new park is a vast improvement over the previous park. Heritage field boasts a state-of-the-art layout and features “three championship grass ballfields for baseball, softball, and little league, along with event space for track and field competition including discus, shot put, and javelin,” said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.

However, Geoffrey Croft, the president of parks watchdog group NYC Park Advocates Inc., said the city isn't being up-front about the parks. According to a report released by NYCPA several years ago, only 22 acres are being opened in the neighborhood.

“What they're doing now is trying to claim another five acres and from day one they have not been up-front about the project,” Croft said.

June 29, 2010. Officials finally broke ground on the long delayed building of Heritage Field. (Photo: Marla Diamond/WCBS)

Read More:

Ground Broken at Heritage Field Near Yankee Stadium

Epoch Times - June 29, 2010 - By Jack Phillips

It's Groundbreaking Day for Heritage Field at Site of Old Yankee Stadium

WCBS 880 - June 29, 2010 - By Marla Diamond

Work begins on new Heritage Field where old Yankee Stadium once stood

New York Daily News - June 30, 2010 - By Mike Jaccarino

Iconic DiMaggio Quote Crumbles as Major Section of Old Yankee Stadium is Demolished

Joltin Joe DiMaggio's iconic quote, "I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee,"  came crashing down yesterday afternoon as a major section of the old Yankee Stadium was demolished.   The quote adorned the Yankee Stadium facade high above the main entryway.  Dozens of people lined a recently inaugurated park facility located on top of the parking garage to watch the demolition. The "pull," which lasted five seconds, also brought down half of the dates painted on the facade depicting 26 Yankee World Series victories. 

The old stadium will eventually be turned into Heritage Field, three ballfields promised to the community in exchange for allowing the Yankees to seize more than 25 acres of historic parkland to build their new stadium. The Stadium demolition has experienced long delays which has caused the replacement ballfields to delayed - so far - more than a year. Other replacement parks facilities have been delayed up three years.  In the end the community will lose two ballfields and three acres of public parkland among other things.  Photos: © NYC Park Advocates

April 8, 2010

April 10, 2010  Photos:  © Jahn/Croft-NYC Park Advocates

Photos: © Geoffrey Croft-NYC Park Advocates

Joe Dimaggio's quote sits in a pile of rubble after the "pull."

Heritage Field Design Gets Preliminary Approval

Gate 2 (l.) at old Yankee Stadium in the Bronx is to be demolished along with rest of facility 

by June, but fans are fighting city's plan. (Photo: Alvarez/NY Daily News)

After various delays – including a push by a group of tourists to save a 1923 section of the old Yankee stadium – the City's Design Commission finally gave Preliminary Approval of Heritage Field on Monday afternoon. 

It still ain't over till its over.

That's the vow a group of Yankee fans made Tuesday after losing the latest - and possibly final - battle with the city to save Gate 2 at the old Yankee Stadium according to the Daily News.

The city Public Design Commission on Monday granted preliminary approval to the Parks Department's plans to commemorate the old Yankee Stadium - without retaining Gate 2.

Now the Gate 2 fans say they will pursue legal action to save it from the wrecking ball.

"I'm definitely going ahead with an injunction," said group member Tim Reid, 55, of Boca Raton, Fla.

The entire stadium is set to be demolished by June to make way for a Heritage Field Park.

The Parks Department plans to commemorate the House that Ruth Built by putting in engraved plaques and preserving elements of the stadium frieze and the famous bat statue outside.

Read More: 

Time running out as Yankees fans lose another battle in fight to save Gate 2 at old Stadium

February 24, 2010 - New York Daily News - By Benjamin Peim