How To Build A Stadium, Taxpayer Edition

Good Jobs New York (GJNY) has issued a report this morning outlining cost overruns at the new Yankee Stadium project and how a variety of former elected officials, including former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Bronx Democratic honcho Roberto Ramirez (pictured), used their influence to push the project through, a project GJNY says "won't benefit taxpayers or community members."

“The new Yankee Stadium is economic development on steroids: plenty of bravado but void of benefit for New Yorkers,” said Bettina Damiani, Director of GJNY. “The project’s costs keep rising, the community lost its parks and there’s no one to hold accountable for creating new jobs. The only winners are the Yankees owners and management.”

The report, titled Insider Baseball: How Current and Former Public Officials Pitched a Community Shutout for the New York Yankees, can be found [here]. Aside from the political shenanigans, the report also recommends various improvements to the City's land use and development process to prevent any "replay of the Yankee Stadium fiasco."

“The fiscal implications for the Yankee project are worse than a zero-sum game,” said Dan Steinberg, GJNY’s research analyst. “The flawed development process belittled the community and created a mirage of economic benefits for taxpayers.”