PIMPING THE BRONX

The new Yankee Stadium is a political football. Debated and recreated, it's construction was controversial from the inception. It promised jobs and a revival of the Bronx.

Supporters of the new stadium rally around the banner of job creation and Yankee President Randy Levine recently stated that 1,000 new jobs would be created. But projections by the city and state differ. The city sponsored analysis estimates 700 permanent New York City jobs and the state estimates 598 jobs would be directly created by a new stadium.

Neither Levine nor city officials have addressed job quality standards such as wages and benefits. Subsidies for sports stadiums usually involve direct public expenditures for the construction of the facility, which would be recovered through revenue sources such as rents and taxes related to economic activity spurred by the stadium.

The financing arrangement for the Yankee Stadium project involved a contribution of over $200 million from the city and state for up front costs including parking garages and replacement parks.

Meanwhile, key revenue sources that could offset those costs — such as rent, property tax, and sales taxes on construction materials — would not be collected. Economists often point out that the limited economic impacts of stadium investments are partially attributable to the quality of sports related jobs. Local income increases through good jobs for local residents, but according to economist Richard Dye, "professional sports and stadiums divert economic developments toward labor intensive, relatively unskilled (low wage) activities.

The types of jobs created by stadium activity are typically low paying and seasonal, such as ticket takers, ushers, vendors and restaurant workers, guards and parking lot attendants. The average annual salary of the stadium jobs are projected to be $18, 562.00

However, in early February 2006, the Bronx Borough President revealed an agreement between his office and Related Companies for the development of Gateway Center Mall south of Yankee Stadium. The agreement impacts the Yankee stadium proposal since Carrión says it will be the benchmark for the future.

There are several concerns about the Borough President’s agreement: The commitment to hire Bronx residents is weak. Retail tenants at the Development will have no hiring obligations under the agreement and the developer will have few employees to begin with. The developer can also hire non-Bronx residents it deems more qualified.

Despite that, Yankee Magazine relates a much rosier picture.

"As part of the New York Yankees commitment to ensure that the stadium project creates economic opportunities in the Bronx, we have made a concerted effort to recruit a wide range of vendors and employees from the area. Of the 44 vending contracts awarded thus far, 17 have been awarded to Bronx-based businesses. This is well above our goal of having 25 percent of our vendors from the Bronx. When it comes to employing local Bronx residents, we have also enjoyed greater success than we ever imagined. Of the 122 workers hired to date, 35 are Bronx residents. We are especially pleased since workforce needs during the first phase of construction include workers mainly with specialty skills including welders, operating engineers and Back Hole operators."

Twenty two of 135 is not a huge success. As for the Bronx based businesses, how many of the owners live in the borough? The Bronx has been pimped and sold to carpetbaggers who see an opportunity in the ruins. When the official ground breaking occurs announcing the opening of the New Yankee Stadium, one can only hope that the promises are not broken also. If not....the House of Ruth may indeed be the House of the Ruthless.