Sparkling (II)

Part 2 of Sparkling here, as promised.

Here's the thing about the new Yankee Stadium: not only has the price tag of what was already billed as the second most-expensive stadium ever built gone up, but a lot of parkland has been lost by the construction at the moment with the new building being built where Macombs Dam and John Mullaly Parks once lied. This was more apparent as today for the unoffical start of summer, Memorial Day, many residents who used to grab the barbeque grills and get their neighborhood ball leagues going had to pack themselves in either the temporary park that was built by the City on the other side of the Macombs Dam Overpass - which was actually a parking lot - or further away in other neighborhoods.

There is a swap where there are going to be several smaller parks built (paid for by the City) and there would be a couple more acres created from this swap than the two original parks combined. Yet, there is a delay in when these parks will be built along with increased costs that have yet to be completely determined.

Personal politics and profession aside, you can only hope that this is rectified without further controversy and financial burden on the City, State or the Yankees themselves. Yet, too many cities around the world have been down this road before. We'll see what happens.

This is from the Macombs Dam Bridge approach in Harlem.

These were taken while passing the construction on the downtown 4 train between the 167th and 161st Street stops.

If you thought that the new Stadium would not have a wall to block those watching from the 4 train platform at 161st Street/Yankee Stadium, think again.

I think it's kind of funny to believe that fans who probably couldn't afford to get a seat anyway would try to take away potential revenue. Besides, unless you're going to grab a lawn chair and look for someone selling Poland Springs for a buck, you're on the train to go home anyway. That and neither the MTA nor the NYPD are having it.

From across the street at the current Stadium. It's a magnificent façade, without a doubt.


For more on the parks controversy, I'll refer you to this article in the New York Times. Below are photos where one of the replacement parks - a rooftop park on top of an underground parking garage - will be built.