The Yankees, Unobstructed

The Ticket Dilemma

Eleven dollars. That is how much a couple of my friends paid for Yankee tickets. The seats were in the upper deck, but they had an excellent view of the field and enjoyed watching game six of what is now a nine-game winning streak.

While the Yankees have priced their tickets exorbitantly - the most inexpensive non-bleacher yet totally-nosebleed seats are $23 - third-party resale sites are making the new Stadium cheaper than the old one....on certain days.

If you are willing to go to a game mid-week, tickets can routinely be found for less than half of their original prices. A search for tickets on Fansnap.com for the Yankees' Wednesday, June 3, matchup against the Rangers go as low as $9.

However, their is a flip-side to the resale market, and that is the cost of tickets for premium games - weekend matches and games against rivals. Right now, since those third-party sites operate as open-markets, games with higher demands are naturally more expensive. To purchase those $11 seats that my friends got a few days ago, for the game against the Mets on Saturday, June 13, would cost you at least $87.

Outrageous? Our favorite Assemblyman Richard Brodsky thinks so. Brodsky recently introduced legislation that would re-institute a cap on the resale value of tickets for events. The cap, which was in place in New York until 2007, would limit resale tickets to between 20 percent and 45 percent of their original value, depending on the size of the venue.

Brodsky's bill has been met with chagrin by online ticket retailers. While representatives of various online ticket brokers argue that their sites merely represent the value of tickets on a free market - they point to tickets like the $11 set my friends purchased, they misunderstand the impetus for Brodsky's legislation. Weekend and rivalry games are so expensive, that users of resell sites like StubHub can afford to buy up large swaths of tickets in expectation of windfall profits.

If you go to Yankees.com and search for tickets for one of those cheap weeknight games, what you'll find is that there are very few tickets available from the first-party source. Why is there such a disparity between what's available from the Yankees and what's available for resale? Because people who use StubHub as a source of income are willing to swallow moderate weeknight losses for huge weekend gains.

Brodsky's legislation presents the casual fan with a quandary. On the one hand, the current system allows for a reliable and relatively consistent availability of inexpensive seats on certain days, while making it extraordinarily expensive to obtain tickets for more attractive games. On the other hand, with capped ticket values, the price of better games would drop considerably, but inevitably, less tickets for weeknights would be available third-party (if there's less value in weekend games, then swallowing losses on weekday games becomes less feasible).

As a 23 year old, my initial reaction to Brodsky's bill was revulsion. For $11, I can spare my weeknights for Yankee games. But I suspect that the 18-24 year old bracket is not the segment of the population that Brodsky is most concerned with. While capped ticket values might make the Wednesday night game more expensive for me, they may very well make it easier for a 25-50 year old to bring his family to a weekend ballgame.


Make sure to check back every Wednesday for Pinstripe Politics, your source for that gray area where the Yankees and society converge. Also, check in with the BNN on Fridays for The Yankees, Unobstructed, our weekly Yankee opinion column.

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' at Lehman Center

May 16 2009: Lehman Center for the Performing Arts was packed to capacity for AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' The Fats Waller Musical Show. Ruben Studdard, Frenchie Davis, Trenyce Cobbins, Patrice Covington, and Arthur W. Mark performed for an audience that hung on to every word they sung and responded to every move they made. Please click on images to view larger images and captions.

The Bomb Plot and other Bronx news, May 21

As you've likely read or heard, the big news coming out of the Bronx this morning is that four men have been arrested for allegedly plotting to blow up two synagogues in Riverdale as well as shooting down military planes. Police say the men were small-time crooks rather than hardened terrorists, but the intent was there.

Here's the Riverdale Press' story. And here's a statement from Congressman Jose Serrano:

The actions of these bomb plot suspects is outrageous and I condemn their motives and actions. New York is a place of tolerance and mutual respect—terror and hatred have no place in our City. I stand united with other City leaders in applauding the fine work of the NYPD, FBI and other law enforcement agencies in apprehending the plotters before they committed a heinous crime.

The city's beaches, including Orchard Beach (the"Bronx Riviera"), will officially open for the summer season this Saturday. Record numbers of visitors are expected as cash-strapped New Yorkers avoid expensive vacations.

Long delays in the building of new schools could lead to more overcrowding in the Bronx and elsewhere. Here's a recent Norwood News story that looked at whether a new school on Webster Avenue, currently in the proposal phase, would alleviate the problem in the local area.

The Bruckner Bar & Grill has been showing artwork inspired by President Obama.

A corrections officer has been sentenced to three years in prison for smuggling drugs into Rikers Island.

Tremont Tribune Debuts -- Greatest Number of Nonprofit Community Newspapers are in Bronx!

The first issue of the Tremont Tribune, which covers all of the neighborhoods in Community District 6 in the Bronx, hit the streets on Tuesday. The paper, published by the Bronx News Network, is a bi-lingual monthly, the same as BNN's paper in Community District 5, the Mount Hope Monitor. We're still fiddling with the Web site for the Tribune but you can see our work-in-progress here.

The Bronx has the greatest collection of nonprofit community newspapers in the country. In addition to the aforementioned and the Norwood News, we are joined by our partners, the Highbridge Horizon, the Mott Haven Herald and the Hunts Point Express.

If you would like a PDF of the entire Tribune, just e-mail me at jmoss-at-norwoodnews.org.

Confusion over Koppell's endorsement of Thompson

At the Bronx Puerto Rican parade on Sunday, several Bronx politicians endorsed City Comptroller Bill Thompson for mayor, according to a press release fired out by his office later than day.

“I want to thank Assemblymember Carl Heastie, Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, Councilmember Oliver Koppell, Councilmember Annabel Palma and Councilmember Maria Baez for their endorsement," Thompson said in the release. "With their help and the support of 1.4 million New Yorkers who live in the Bronx we can take back New York City.”

The following day we posted a blurb and a couple of quotes, and that should have been that. But Thompson (or his spokeswoman, Anne Fenton, who used to work for Adolfo Carrion) may have been a little presumptuous. Last night we received an e-mail from Koppell that read, in part, "... your report of my endorsement of Thompson and other citywide candidates is not accurate. I have made no endorsements in City wide contests at stake in the Democratic primary."

Koppell was alerted to our original post by Maura Keaney, head of field operations for Bloomberg's re-election campaign. Keaney, of course, would like Koppell to support her boss, the incumbent.

On TV tonight: Bronx high school journalists

The latest episode of Independent Sources, a CUNY TV show about the city's ethnic, independent, and community media, will air tonight at 8:30 p.m. on cable channel 75.

I mention it because the Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative, the Bronx News Network's high school journalism program, is being featured. A few weeks ago, a producer and a cameraman filmed a class and also tailed a student of ours, Leroy Day, as he interviewed his principal about a change in the running of his school. Now we get to see the results. We're told the segment's about five minutes long.

The next semester of the youth initiative starts in September. Classes will be held on Wednesday afternoons from 4 to 6 p.m. As one of the instructors, I'm biased, but it really is a great program. Students write and take photos for Bronx Youth Heard, our youth paper. And we bring in guest speakers - the Times' David Gonzalez is a regular - and take students on field trips. In April, for example, we took three of them to an all-day workshop on investigative and enterprise reporting at the Times building in Midtown .

To find out more about the classes, or to get an application form, call (718) 324-4998 or e-mail bronxyouthheard[at]gmail.com. You can get a feel for the program here.

Bronx Dems Seek Alternative to Baez

The Bronx Democratic Party is eager to see Councilmember Maria Baez (District 14) ousted this fall, but is struggling to find a viable alternative to throw its weight behind, according to an article that appeared in City Hall News last week.

Yesenia Polanco, former chief-of-staff to Councilmember Annabel Palma, was once an obvious choice, the article says, but her star seems to be waning. (More on Polanco's candidacy here.)

Daily News columnist Bob Kappstatter added to the debate on Tuesday by reporting that the party has endorsed all incumbant council members except Baez. He said Party Chairman Carl Heastie is "waiting to see which of the long list of her challengers rises to the top."

By the way, the city's Campaign Finance Board released the latest campaign filings last Friday. So far, Baez has raised more money than her nearest rivals - but only just. In the next issue of the Norwood News, there’ll be more on who’s raised what, and from whom.

Sketch of Kingsbridge Road Rape Suspect

This is the police sketch of the man suspected of sexually assaulting two teenage girls, on May 10 and May 18, in an abandoned building on the corner of Kingsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers' website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

Bronx News Roundup, May 20

Police are looking for a man they say sexually assaulted two teenager girls in the past 10 days in the same building near the corner of Kingsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse.

According to the NY Post, cops say the man, described as balding, in his mid-30s, 5-9, 180 pounds, attacked an 18-year-old on May 10, but she managed to escape before being raped. But on Monday, cops say the suspect grabbed a 17-year-old girl, dragged her into the same nearby abandoned building as the first victim and raped her.

Police say rapes usually happen domestically, but these are random grab and drag assaults. The first assault happened in the middle of the day. The other late at night.

Here's video and a sketch of the subject on NY1.

On Monday, we wrote that the Armory's developer, Related Companies, is well-connected with the city. Yesterday, Eliot Brown on PolitickerNY.com wrote about how Related managed to not only get the Armory project certified by City Planning, but also its even more gigantic project over the West Side Railyards in Manhattan.

That means both projects will be in the hands of the current roster of Council members and a friendly mayor. Brown writes: "In the wake of November’s elections, the Council’s membership will change somewhat, starting Jan. 1—and perhaps the mayor will, too—adding uncertainty for developers in what can be a highly political process."

Stay tuned.

Scary Albany news that could impact Bronxites and everyone else from the Times: A report by state comptroller says revenue was down 44% from last year, meaning more budget cuts might be needed by the end of the year.

Speaking of cuts, the DOE says schools will have to cut 5% of their budgets for the next school year. The likely casualties: vital after-school and weekend programs.

Pinstripe Politics May 20

MTA proves more efficient than Parks Dept.

The new Metro-North rail station at Yankee Stadium opens on Saturday. This station is an especially important development for the Yankees in their War on Red Sox, because the New Haven line will bring fans from Connecticut (our front-line against "Red Sox Nation") to the park.

From the Norwalk Advocate:

About two years after construction began, Metro-North on Saturday will begin direct service to its new $91 million Yankee Stadium/153rd St. station this weekend for New Haven, Harlem and Hudson line passengers. Metro-North expects up to 10,000 fans to pass through the station on game days.

Connecticut fans on deck for Yankee Stadium trains this weekend

We repeat, the MTA is more efficient than the Parks Dept.

Well, the City and the Yankees are taking their sweet time in demolishing the old Yankee Stadium. Sure, they promised to have the job done by opening day, but now that they've missed that mark, those in charge of taking down baseball's greatest building are making sure they do it profitably right.

Geoffrey Croft of the NYC Park Advocates is not happy about how the demolition has been handled. Croft said in yesterday's Daily News, "This administration did everything possible to service the Yankees, including ignoring the law and treating the community's replacement parks as an afterthought."

I hereby propose a new plan: Until the parks are completed - Rather than squeeze everyone onto the limited park-space currently available in the South Bronx, all organized recreational baseball and soccer games should be played on the front lawn of Gracie Mansion. The City will, of course, provide transportation to and from (the newly renamed) Gracie Park.

Also check out....

The Demolition of Yankee Stadium.

Yankee players want a piece of the action.

Despite Lonn Trost, fans can now get close to the field during batting practice.

Make sure to check back every Wednesday for Pinstripe Politics, your source for that gray area where the Yankees and society converge. Also, check in with the BNN on Fridays for The Yankees, Unobstructed, our weekly Yankee opinion column.

Bronx News Roundup, May 19

The Horace Mann School in Riverdale has been closed for the rest of the week because of concerns about swine flu.

Fare-beaters are taking advantage of the honors system on the Bx12 Select Bus Service.

In his weekly column, the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter runs through the lengthy list of Bronx politicians currently being investigated for wrong-doings. He adds that the Bronx Democratic Party has chosen to endorse every incumbent City Council member for reelection. Everyone, that is, except Maria Baez (District 14).

Still on endorsements, the Bronx Democratic Party has endorsed Melinda Katz for city comptroller, Bill de Blasio for public advocate, and Bill Thompson for mayor.

The much-lampooned principal of PS 24, a K through 5th grade school on West 236th Street, has been reassigned.

State Senator Jeff Klein wants to see non-diet sodas taxed, with the money going towards tax relief for homeowners.

More on the city's failure to build the Yankee Stadium replacement parks on time.

City Promoting Job Boon From Armory; Community Board to Unveil Community Benefits Proposal

Here's the link to the city's press release about the Kingsbridge Armory project,., which as we mentioned yesterday is now in the land review process, which starts with Community Board 7 -- the area covered by the Norwood News.

In the release, Mayor Bloomberg praises the Armory project as another shining example of public-private partnerships working to bring jobs to New Yorkers.

In this case, the city and state are giving an estimated $60 million-plus in tax breaks and benefits to the Related Companies for developing the Armory into a shopping mall. Related will also take ownership of the Armory, an enormous historically landmarked building smack in the middle of the densely-populated Kingsbridge area. Related is said to be contributing $300 million of its own money for the project.

Bloomberg and Related say the project will bring in 1,200 permanent jobs (some full-time, some part-time) and 1,000 other jobs during construction.

Determining how this will benefit the community is where the community and Bloomberg administration differ. Bloomberg believes, essentially, that development is good in its own right -- it will bring jobs, it will make use of a vacant building, it will bring in commercial activity (sales tax), etc.

The community, in this case represented by CB7 and the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA), says this is not enough. The jobs, they say, won't be high paying. The commercial activity, they say, won't directly benefit the community, which will have to put up with more traffic and two years of construction. It may actually hurt existing area businesses, who will have to compete with Armory businesses.

And this why KARA and CB7 want a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) in place -- to assure that the community will benefit. Related has said it is willing to offer some additional benefits, but took living wage job requirements ($10 and hour, plus benefits) off the table.

KARA and CB7 have kept living wage job requirement firmly on the table. KARA leaders say they think the city should look into other developers if the community's demands (like living wage jobs) are not met. Related has indicated it will back out of the project if the demands are too high (like living wage jobs).

Sounds like an impasse. However, Related will not commit to negotiating with KARA or CB7. Instead, they insist that benefits will be worked out through the Armory Task Force, which includes KARA, CB7, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, Council member Maria Baez, reps from the mayor's office and the Bronx Borough President's office (represented at the last task force meeting by Ray Salaberrios, president of the Bronx Overal Economic Development Corp.).

The city says it wants nothing to do with a Community Benefits Agreement, but also says it wants to be in the room if a CBA is being worked out by parties outside of the task force. The last two CBAs for big projects (Yankee Stadium and Gateway Center Mall), both criticized for lacking community input, were worked out mostly through Adolfo Carrion's borough president's office.

Tonight, at the CB7 monthly meeting, the Board will unveil its draft CBA proposal, which they drew up in anticipation of the start of the land use review process.