Behind the prestine and profitable Yankee Stadium promises of three public baseball fields remain merely muddy eyesores as thier construction continues to be put off.
After the construction of Yankee Stadium in 2009, officials promised nearby residents three new public baseball playing fields to replace ones that were bulldozed over to make room for the new stadium in 2006.
The fields that were in Macombs Dam Park were the only regulation baseball diamonds nearby. The diamonds were home to youth leagues, neighboorhood pickup games and nearby high schools.
"We've gone five years now with no ball fields here," Sean Sullivan, 55, the principal of All Hallows and a coach of its baseball team, told the New York Times, "They took the parks away from my kids, and now our team is a bunch of gypsies."
While the stadium was built in record time, building replacement parks for the community seems to be at a stand still, causing some to question the cities priorities.
Meanwhile city officials assure the public that the rebuilding of city parklands is a priority and that a finished product will be seen in the not-so-distant future.
"When people look back they don't say. 'Did it take longer than we thought?' " Adrian Benepe, the city's parks commissioner told the New York Times, "They say, 'Did it deliver what it promised?"
"The Yankees haven't necessarily sat by idly," agrees reporter Jamie Insalaco,"they provided money for buses for at least one year and yes, most of the projects are finished, but it's hard to accept the cold irony of taking away the kids place to play baseball in favor of a new Yankee Stadium and not expediting the construction of the new park."
While those nearby are affected by the loss in parkland, the new stadium has proven to be a great source of revenue for the lucrative baseball franchise and most seem to be in support the construction of the stadium overall.
"I'm not saying the Yankees don't do things for the community," Insalaco said, "but its time to step up. They have the means, they just need to act. "
