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MAYOR MIKE’S PLAYLAND…
By Anthony | April 17, 2009
Greetings,
I never knew that major league baseball pitcher Heath Bell was so in tuned with the feelings of some of the every day New York City citizens. You know those who are teetering on the brink of being pushed off the island.
During the much-ballyhooed grand opening of Citi Field – the New York Mets version of keeping up with the Joneses vis-à-vis the latest Yankee Stadium at the expense of the taxpayer – the San Diego Padres reliever hurled a pitch in the direction of mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The offering was intercepted by fencing that is set up behind home plate and gave the billionaire a photo op on many of the media outlets, but there was a great deal of irony in this moment.
You see the 31-year old Bell, a former reliever with the Mets, was obviously amped up given the opportunity to stick it to the team that gave up on his skills and relegated the southern California native to the minors at its ballpark christening.
For two seasons Heath Bell was shuttled back and forth from Norfolk, Virginia – the club’s minor league affiliate – to Flushing, Queens in lieu of giving him a longer stay with the big club.
Much like many of the every day citizens of this metropolis, who are being pushed to the brink of dislocation.
Citi Field, yes that’s right brought to you by Citigroup the same banking conglomerate that received billions in taxpayer bailout money, and the new Yankee Stadium – worth $1.5 billion – are the latest in Michael Bloomberg’s efforts to make New York only available for the ultra-rich or for those New Yorkers forced to perpetrate wealth to just say they were there.
From all the early accounts Yankee stadium leads in the excess and gaudiness that laughs in the face of the current depression the country faces.
These words from Yankees general partner, Hal Steinbrenner, speak volumes when you consider the need to provide a way of further separating the haves from the have nots, by any means necessary.
“We understand that a lot of our fans are struggling. I mean, this is the worst recession in most of our lifetimes, but at the same time, I think baseball has always been an escape for people, you know? And I think what we’re going to provide is an unbelievable experience for thousands and thousands of our fans that, despite the troubles they’re going through right now, might get away for two or three hours, get their minds off things. And we’re going to make that experience, you know, tremendous.”
Some early observations at the new Yankee stadium:
- Two thousand six hundred and twenty five dollars! For the top seat
- The average ticket is $72.97, nearly double what it once was
- Bloomberg’s New York City used more than $400 million in public subsidies to help fund stadium
- Several obstructed view seats, this quote from a New York Times article penned by Joshua Robinson clearly illustrates this:
“This is horrible,” said Keith Bauer, a season-ticket holder since 2004. “For them to build a billion-dollar stadium and have these seats is ridiculous. You have to move to whole other sections before you can even see right field. If my seats were here, I would not be coming all the way from Albany for this.” From Section 239, Bauer missed the first home run at the Yankees’ new park when Robinson Cano’s shot looped into the right-field bleachers in the second inning.
Citi Field, though slightly less expensive in its construction, is not without its garish excesses and yes several seats that are obstructed.
By the way, Bell got a new baseball after the errant pitch that Mayor Bloomberg grabbed and then went on to save all of the two San Diego wins over the Mets in the three game set.
Perhaps we should all start fighting back like Bell and not feigning opulence.
PEACE
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April 18th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Everything dynamic and very positively!
Have a nice day
Joker
May 7th, 2009 at 1:50 am
Hi, good post. I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for writing. I will likely be subscribing to your blog. Keep up the good posts