For the
purpose of saving historic Gate 2 at Old Yankee Stadium, baseball groups
HistoryOfTheYankees.com, the Committee to
Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium & the Committee to Commemorate Babe Ruth -
speaking for and acting on behalf of Baseball fans, historians, architects,
historic preservationists, and other concerned citizens, groups, and
relevant experts from New York and around the nation, has voluntarily
researched and developed a
Public fundraising campaign to the City of New York, entitled the "SAVE
THE Gate" Commemorative Brick Drive.
This Commemorative
Brick Drive will be similar to ones throughout Major League BallParks and
other leading sports venues throughout the world, such as the highly
successful programs employed by the Mets at Citi Field (Fanwalk), the St.
Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Cowboys
Stadium in Dallas, and the Cleveland Indians' "Heritage Park."
Based on Committee
studies and expert estimates, commemorative bricks at plazas & walkways
encompassing the new Parkland and ball fields scheduled to replace the
historic site of Old Yankee Stadium could generate well over 5 Million
dollars (as other MLB "legacy" brick memorials have) - depending on exact
design. This would provide the City of New York millions of dollars more
than is needed to save historic Gate 2!!
Legacy brick
plazas & walkways would also dramatically increase YEAR-ROUND tourism
and visitation to the much-in-need Old Yankee Stadium neighborhood -
where residents and businesses have lost critical revenues with the
Stadium's closure and destruction. Saving Gate 2 will make the new
Park
one of the most respected and profitable in the country. These brick
plazas & walkways would also simultaneously enhance the currently poor
aesthetics of the preliminary "Heritage Field" plan, exponentially
improving the historic and cultural "disconnect" decried by historic
design experts. (Adding extra elegance and attraction, the
commemorative bricks can be made in magnificent blue, white and gray
combinations, in unique tribute to the Stadium's unparalleled place in
history.)
The Parks
Department's preliminary plan for the historic Old Yankee
Stadium
is the highly controversial and criticized "Heritage Field", which
retains absolutely NOTHING from Old Yankee Stadium. This as yet
unapproved plan has been emphatically objected to by officials, experts,
and fans, who regard it as historically, architecturally, and
aesthetically "bland" and "inauthentic". It's MOST tragic failure is
that it omits saving anything from original Yankee Stadium - a fatal
flaw easily corrected with the saving of the 1920's era Gate 2. (The
Parks Department abruptly withdrew from their October 5 appearance
before the NYC Design Commission, where they were scheduled to defend
against these widespread and well-informed criticisms in a Public
Hearing before New York City Design Commission, which oversees the
aesthetic and architectural suitability of all Public projects in New
York City.)
Parks
Department has told the media (without providing any evidence whatsoever )
that the cost of saving Gate 2 - the original Stadium's most glorious
remaining element - is too prohibitive, claiming (again without providing
any evidence) it would cost "10 Million dollars". Architectural and
structural engineering experts assess the cost at only 1 Million dollars,
less than the cost of demolishing and removing the Gate. In other
words, experts believe it will cost less to save Gate 2 than to destroy
it!!!
In any case,
the "SAVE THE Gate" Commemorative Brick Drive would eliminate any cost
concern - providing up to 10 Million dollars - thereby saving a majestic
part of America's greatest and most historically important Stadium, thereby
assuring that the historic site of Old Yankee Stadium be more properly
preserved, protected & commemorated - making it one of the premier urban
Parks in America - rather than the unnecessary mediocre and uninspired
architectural, aesthetic, cultural, and historical flop that's now proposed
by the Parks' Department.
For further
information, please call or write the contacts below - who can also put
you in touch with historians, preservationists, architects, and other
relevant experts, helping to save the Gate.
SAVE THE Gate
videos prepared by Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
members can be seen at:
http://www.ultimateyankees.com/savetheGate.htm.
See, for example: "TOP 9 REASONS TO SAVE THE Gate" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyqyl1WJuJM,
a musical summary of why the Gate should be saved (to Four of a
Kind's "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"), which includes a brief
depiction and description of the proposed SAVE THE Gate
Commemorative Brick Drive (at "Reason No. 7", 1:04 - 1:14)
###
Information
provided above was derived from consultation with top authorities in the
fields of Baseball, architecture, New York history & historic
preservation, as well as with top "legacy brick" fundraising experts.
______
For Further
Information, Please contact:
Tim Reid
Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
754-368-1295
The Hearing was a GREAT success,
resulting in official disapproval of the
severely flawed preliminary plan for the old Yankee
Stadium
Site!!!
The
Parks Department has been firmly directed to overhaul the
Park design - either saving the Gate - or proving why they
can not!
Below
is the Committee's very well received presentation
As
presented by Cindy Jones
Committee to Commemorate
Old Yankee
Stadium
______________________________
Public Design Commission Hearing
New York City Hall
October 26, 2009
__________________________
Thank you
so very much for this great honor & opportunity to speak on
behalf of people around the country, who so passionately
want to pay tribute to the greatest Stadium in the American
history….America’s Coliseum…Old Yankee Stadium.
As Mayor
Bloomberg reported only last year, in the "Official Yankee
Stadium Retrospective" Old Yankee Stadium is one of New
York's three most asked-about New York City international
icons, along with Empire State Building, and the Empire
State Building. Wherever he travels around the world, he
said, people always ask about [Old] Yankee Stadium.
Dozens of
international luminaries, including presidents, governors,
and celebrities of every type - joined the Mayor in this
book - one of many hundreds written on the history of the
Stadium - voicing how very highly regarded the Stadium is
around the world.
Indeed,
it is Old Yankee Stadium's unmatched
prominence, that compelled me to fly in this morning from my
home state of Virginia, to encourage and plead to the great
City of New York to "properly preserve and celebrate" this
national landmark and treasure.
Commissioners, the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee
Stadium
request
that you
please Save Gate 2,
The
exciting reality is that Gate 2 IS overwhelmingly
original - as the two photos of Gate 2 before you make
unmistakably clear - one from the 1930's and the other
taken just this year. The City's original belief that
Gate
2 was NOT original was wrong.
And,
moreover, Gate 2 is PERFECTLY located between New and Old
Yankee Stadiums -- providing a magnificent architectural,
and even spiritual, Gateway, connecting our past to our
future.
As
Bronx County Historian, Dr. Lloyd Ultan, observed in Paul
Goldberger's recent article in the New Yorker
citing authoritative criticisms of preliminary Park design:
“What’s missing from the Park plan is the architecture of
the Stadium itself.”
- later
stating that a large, tangible part of the original
Stadium
is needed to effectively communicate the original
Stadium's
majesty & size, like ruins of antiquity so powerfully do.
Architectural experts Rick Bell, Jeff Bianco, Phil Reina -
along with so many others - the preliminary design as
"lacking authenticity".
In fact,
neither Babe, nor Lou, saw ANYTHING included in the current
proposal!
BUT, they
saw Gate 2!!
_____________________
Yankee Stadium historians across the country - including
Bill Jenkinson and the City's own Dr. Ultan - emphatically
agree, adding that a meaningful tangible memory from the
Stadium's most glorious days is needed to properly
record its irreplaceable preeminence.
As Paul Doherty, a leading authority
on Yankee Stadium, put it:
"Gate 2 will serve
as a cultural lamp post to the great eras of New York City's
sporting dominance - second only to the Roman Coliseum in
its importance to the overall history of world sports."
The essential point we all must remember is that:
If Gate 2 is not saved, nothing of the Stadium's
most glorious era and architecture will be!
We also
respectfully request, Commissioners, that the Old Yankee
Stadium Site be called "Old Yankee Stadium Park", rather
than the overly common and nondescript "Heritage Field", or
"Park" of which there are so very many across the country - including
one at the Cleveland Indians' Stadium right up the road in
the Yankees' own AL East!
"Old
Yankee Stadium Park" is clearly a far better name -
one that truly "celebrates the site's rich history", as is
the charter and goal of the Commission. Paul
Goldberger, the renowned New York historic architect - and
the City's Board Member for the National Trust for
Historic Preservation - also disapproves of the name. Dr.
Ultan emphatically joins him, along with preeminent
historians and Baseball fans of the Stadium across the City,
and country.
For
similarly compelling reasons, we request the baseball area
of the new Park be called "Babe Ruth Memorial Field" - to
both tribute New York's greatest and beloved sports hero,
and to replace the original "Babe Ruth Memorial Baseball
Filed" - recently destroyed to make way for New Yankee
Stadium. Your very distinguished Art Commission
predecessor, Williams Adams Delano, was a leading
participant in the creation of Babe Ruth Memorial Field,
created sixty years ago, as a "permanent" tribute to New
York's (still) most beloved and immortal sports figure - New
York's great Babe Ruth.
__________________
In
closing Commissioners, I quote another New York great,
Jackie Kennedy, who did so very much for preserving this
great City's cultural treasures, and whose statement forty
years ago so perfectly addresses why we must save Gate 2:
"Is it
not cruel to let New York die by degrees, stripped of
all her proudest moments, until there will be nothing left
of history and beauty to inspire our children? If they
are not inspired by the past of our City, where will they
find the strength to fight for her future? Americans
care about their past, but, for short term gain, they ignore
it and tear down everything that matters. This is the
time to take a stand and reverse the tide."
Please,
Commissioners, save Gate 2, at "Old Yankee Stadium Park" -
not only for Babe & Lou … but, most of all, for all our
children and loved ones - and all those who follow us - so
they can see and even touch "The House That Ruth Built" -
the greatest Stadium in our nation's history- "Old Yankee
Stadium.".
Baseball Digest LIVE, with Mark
Healy: "Preserving the Past" October 5,
2009
[Expert Opinions of Baseball
Historians Bill Jenkinson, Paul Doherty, Mark Healy &
Tim Reid. Historic Preservation Architect Jeff Bianco.
Historical Preservationists Jeff Wattrick & Peter
Comstock Riley]
Visual Evidence
Side-by-Side Photographic Comparison of 1930's Gate, and
Spring 2009 Gate: Produced by Joe Staluppi,
Graphic Designer
Model of
Proposed Gate 2 Monument at Old Yankee Stadium Site,
Yankee Stadium Modeler, Mike Hagan
Now that we've won at
City Hall - getting an official ruling that Old Yankee
Stadium Gate 2 should be saved, if funds can be
found:
The Committee to Commemorate
Old Yankee Stadium has created, developed, and proposed to
the City of New York the "SAVE THE Gate Volunteer Worker
Program", designed to eliminate all labor costs
potentially associated with the saving of Gate 2 at Old
Yankee Stadium, and other improvements to the new Park
design for the
Old Yankee Stadium site.
Join with other architects,
engineers, construction foremen and laborers, iron workers,
cost estimators, lawyers, historians, preservationists,
painters, masons, water proofers, safety and security
professionals, insurance and contracts experts, among others
- all helping to save this irreplaceable treasure.
Help SAVE THE Gate and
otherwise transform the Old Yankee Stadium site into the
preeminent Park its majestic history compels.
The more volunteers the
better!!!
All interested parties should
contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium;
providing your name, applicable skill, trade or profession - as
well as a brief description of the services and number of days
you would like to volunteer.
Help make the Old Yankee Stadium
site a Park worthy of its unparalleled history!!!
____________
Please
Contact the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee
Stadium:
Christmas has come early to
the Bronx; Gate 2 at The House That Ruth
Built is alive and well, standing proudly and defiantly (must be that Edison
Concrete) as the rest of the Stadium slowly crumbles around her. She still
serves as a reminder of and a portal to thirty-seven AmericanLeague Pennants and twenty-six World Championships.
On Monday, December 14,
representatives from the Committee to
Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium walked the streets of the Bronx
(specifically, 161st Street and River Avenue) as well as those of the
Nation’s Capital, seeking funding, landmark status, and assurance that the Gate,
which is original to the old Stadium (1923), will go untouched until all
structural inspections, preservation cost estimates, and evaluation and analysis
of those estimates have been conducted.After extensive review of its originality, aesthetic and architectural
worth, and its great historical importance, the Design Commission of the City of
New York recommended that the City’s Parks Department
redo its preliminary plan to include Gate 2 as a monument in the new Park.
Chris and Cindy Jones (Committee
to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium)traveled to Washington, DC
last Monday, armed with press releases, letters, and photographs…ammunition as
well as evidence of the Gate’s historical, architectural, cultural, and
spiritual importance…and spoke with the offices of individuals and staff members
of organizations whose support of the preservation effort could make a
difference.
Chris and Cindy’s visit and
correspondence(s) were also about requesting federal stimulus funds for this
“shovel-ready” project, as well as for historic preservation funds for this
preeminent historical site (as stated above).The Committee, to garner
additional funds, has also initiated a
Volunteer Worker Program and a
Commemorative Brick Drive, much like the one at Citi Field’
Their trip was also a
preliminary step toward application for Federal land marking and funding for the
old Yankee Stadium site.
Mr. and Mrs. Jonesspoke with individuals at the National Park Service (Historic Preservation
Program); the office ofUnited
States Senator, Charles Schumer (New York); Congressman, Jose E. Serrano (New
York’s 16th District); and Adolfo Carrion, former Bronx Borough
President and currently White House Director of Urban Affairs. Ironically, the
office of Jim Bunning, former Major League pitcher, 1996 inductee into the
National Baseball Hall of Fame, and United States Senator from
Kentucky, was down the hall from that of Senator
Schumer, and information regarding Gate 2 was left for him as well.
The
Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium has also contacted the
Steinbrenner Family and Mayor Bloomberg and requested that they supply the
needed funds (if they don’t accept/approve/apply for the proposed funding).
Contact Information
for MR. AND MRS. JONES GO TO WASHINGTON
Chris and Cindy Jones,
Committee to
Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium 13722 Long Cove Place Midlothian,
Virginia23112
In extensive
consultation and coordination with leading historians, architects,
construction experts, and engineers - from New York and across the country -
the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium and HistoryOfTheYankees.com
have researched, designed and proposed a NEW Gate 2 MONUMENT to
properly preserve and commemorate the history of the original Old Yankee
Stadium (1923-1972). At present, the New York City Parks Department plans
to completely deconstruct and sell the entire original Stadium, over
emphatic concerns and objections of citizens and experts around the nation,
as well as those of New York City officials, including but not limited to
Bronx County Historian Lloyd Ultan, and the Public Design Commission. The
Design Commission has recently (again) rejected the Parks Department most
recent proposed plan to recklessly destroy and sell the entire original
Stadium, not preserving any part of it whatsoever in commemoration (and
otherwise not properly commemorating the site's unparalleled place in New
York and American history.)
To address
these urgent concerns, top Yankee Stadium historians, architects, and
designers have voluntarily joined forces to propose a monument
which properly and comprehensively addresses all historic, structural,
aesthetic, and financial, issues under City review. The stunning
resulting design - generated by the world's
preeminent Yankee
Stadium 3D modeler, designer & animator, Rick Kaplan - is summarized in the
attached imagery. It faithfully, elegantly and feasibly captures and
preserves the original majesty of Old Yankee Stadium, immediately allowing
Park visitors (for hundreds of years to come) to readily and tangibly see
what The House That Ruth Built really looked like - inside and out - in a
manner that will generate year-round tourism and associated
revenues for the South Bronx and City.
To make this monument
a reality, the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium &
HistoryOfTheYankees.com have also voluntarily developed the SAVE THE Gate
Commemorative Brick Program, which can raise an additional $1o million
dollars for the City, as well as the SAVE THE Gate VOLUNTEER WORKER PROGRAM,
which will eliminate virtually all labor costs associated with preserving
the Gate.
Thus, the City will
actually GREATLY profit - not only culturally, but financially, too, by
saving Gate 2.
Most important of all
is the fact that IF Gate 2 is NOT saved, New York will have wantonly
destroyed and given away ALL of the greatest Stadium and sports site since
the Roman Coliseum.
For Previous Media
Releases, Stories & Related Videos, Please See:
The Committee
to Commemorate to Old Yankee Stadium has three urgent missions:
1) To Preserve
Old Yankee Stadium Gate 2 as a permanent commemorative feature at Old
Yankee Stadium Park. To achieve this, we have initiated the SAVE THE
Gate COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE and VOLUNTEER WORKER PROGRAM.
2) To name the new
Park site of Old Yankee Stadium "OLD YANKEE Stadium Park", a majestically
unique and infinitely more appealing, accurate, and appropriate name. The
currently proposed name has been widely criticized by Baseball, historical
and architectural experts (as well as legions of informed fans and concerned
citizens) as grossly common, bland, ambiguous, and terribly disconnected
from the site's preeminent role in New York history, including its
internationally unmatched history in Baseball. (Indeed, there are many
dozens of Heritage Parks and Fields across the country, including the
Cleveland Indians "Heritage Park" - right in the AL East!!!)
3) To name the
baseball field in Old Yankee Stadium Park, "BABE RUTH MEMORIAL FIELD" in
tribute to the most renowned player and icon in Baseball history, and to
replace the original "BABE RUTH MEMORIAL FIELD" which was destroyed to make
room for new Yankee Stadium. (BABE RUTH MEMORIAL FIELD was intended to be
a "permanent" tribute to Babe Ruth's immortal and unparalleled contributions
to the City of New York. It's destruction, along with the destruction of
"The House That Ruth Built", leaves the City devoid of any Public tribute to
America's greatest and most beloved sports figure.
In the near
future, we will also be applying to the U.S. Department of Interior
for long-overdue National Landmark status for the site of Old Yankee
Stadium, which will provide even further (stimulus and historic
preservation) funds available to the City of New York for the
preservation of Gate 2 and complete commemoration of "Old Yankee
Stadium Park."
PLEASE ALSO SEE
IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW, POSTED IN RED
In extensive consultation and coordination with leading
historians, architects, construction experts, and engineers - from New
York and across the country - the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
and HistoryOfTheYankees.com have researched, designed and proposed a NEW
Gate
2 MONUMENT to properly preserve and commemorate the history of the original
Old Yankee Stadium (1923-1972). At present, the New York City Parks
Department plans to completely deconstruct and sell the entire original Stadium,
over emphatic concerns and objections of citizens and experts around the nation,
as well as those of New York City officials, including but not limited to Bronx
County Historian Lloyd Ultan, and the Public Design Commission. The Design
Commission recently rejected the Parks Department most recent proposed plan to
recklessly destroy and sell the entire original Stadium, not preserving any part
of it whatsoever in commemoration (and otherwise not properly commemorating the
site's unparalleled place in New York and American history.)
To address these urgent concerns, top Yankee Stadium historians,
architects, and designers have voluntarily joined forces to propose a monument
which properly and comprehensively addresses all historic, structural,
aesthetic, and financial, issues under City review. The stunning
resulting design - generated by the world's preeminent Yankee Stadium 3D
modeler, designer & animator, Rick Kaplan - is depicted in the above-cited
YouTube video. It faithfully, elegantly and feasibly captures and
preserves the original majesty of Old Yankee Stadium, immediately allowing
Park
visitors (for hundreds of years to come) to readily and tangibly see what The
House That Ruth Built really looked like - inside and out - in a manner
majestically commemorating the Stadium's original 1920's Stadium architecture -
simultaneously generating year-round tourism and associated revenues for
the City of New York. Most particularly, it will provide great beauty and
benefits to the historic Bronx community that has hosted Yankee Stadium since
1923.
To make this monument a reality, the Committee to Commemorate Old
Yankee Stadium & HistoryOfTheYankees.com have also voluntarily developed the
SAVE THE Gate Commemorative Brick Program, which can raise an additional $10
million dollars for the City, as well as the SAVE THE Gate VOLUNTEER WORKER
PROGRAM, which will eliminate virtually all labor costs associated with
preserving the Gate.
Thus, the City will actually GREATLY profit - not only
culturally, but financially, too, by saving Gate 2.
Most important of all is the fact that IF Gate 2 is NOT saved,
the City of New York will have wantonly destroyed and given away ALL of the
greatest Stadium and sports site in American history.
IMPORTANT UPDATE
The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium and HistoryOfTheYankees.com,
met with Parks Department hierarchy this week, at the Arsenal in Central
Park,
to present and discuss their joint proposals. Details of that meeting will
be made available to the media through the contacts below.
For Previous Media Releases, Stories & Related Videos, Please
See:
Tim Reid
Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium (754)368-1295 savetheGate@gmail.com
and/or
Chris & Cindy Jones
Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
(804) 426-9911 chris_jones@comcast.net
_______________
The Committee to Commemorate to Old Yankee Stadium has three urgent missions:
1) To Preserve Old Yankee Stadium Gate 2 as a permanent commemorative feature at
Old Yankee Stadium Park. To achieve this, we have initiated the SAVE THE
Gate COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE and VOLUNTEER WORKER PROGRAM.
2) To name the new Park site of Old Yankee Stadium "OLD YANKEE Stadium Park", a
majestically unique and infinitely more appealing, accurate, and appropriate
name. The currently proposed name has been widely criticized by Baseball,
historical and architectural experts (as well as legions of informed fans and
concerned citizens) as grossly common, bland, ambiguous, and terribly
disconnected from the site's preeminent role in New York history, including its
internationally unmatched history in Baseball. (Indeed, there are many
dozens of Heritage Parks and Fields across the country, including the Cleveland
Indians "Heritage Park" - right in the AL East!!!)
3)
To name the baseball field in Old Yankee Stadium Park, "BABE RUTH MEMORIAL
FIELD" in tribute to the most renowned player and icon in Baseball history, and
to replace the original "BABE RUTH MEMORIAL FIELD" which was destroyed to make
room for new Yankee Stadium. (BABE RUTH MEMORIAL FIELD was intended to be
a "permanent" tribute to Babe Ruth's immortal and unparalleled contributions to
the City of New York. It's destruction, along with the destruction of "The
House That Ruth Built", leaves the City devoid of any Public tribute to
America's greatest and most beloved sports figure.
In the near future, we will also be applying to the U.S. Department of Interior
for long-overdue National Landmark status for the site of Old Yankee Stadium,
which will provide even further (stimulus and historic preservation) funds
available to the City of New York for the preservation of Gate 2 and complete
commemoration of "Old Yankee Stadium Park."
The Committee to
Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium & HistoryOfTheYankees.com succeeded today
at Public Hearing before the Design Commission of New York in having the
new Park at the site of Old Yankee Stadium renamed to "OLD YANKEE
Stadium Park" - a much more apt and inspiring name than that formerly
used by the Parks Department (the nondescript "Heritage Field")
THANK YOU to all who helped us
achieve this significant goal.
Unfortunately, the Commission failed
to stop the Parks Department's plan to destroy Gate 2, leaving NOTHING
from original Yankee Stadium at this sacred site. We will continue to
work toward preserving the Gate, through an Appeal and Petition for
Injunction, further enhancing the Park design and seeking national landmarking of this preeminently important historic site.
STAY TUNED! Like Yogi said: "It Ain't
Over 'Til It's Over"
The new video of our proposed Gate
Monument is at:
The Committee
to Commemorate to Old Yankee Stadium has three urgent missions:
1) To Preserve
Old Yankee Stadium Gate 2 as a permanent commemorative feature at Old
Yankee Stadium Park. To achieve this, we have initiated the SAVE THE
Gate COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE and VOLUNTEER WORKER PROGRAM.
2) To name the new
Park site of Old Yankee Stadium "OLD YANKEE Stadium Park", a majestically
unique and infinitely more appealing, accurate, and appropriate name than
the common place "Heritage Field.". The currently proposed name has been
widely criticized by Baseball, historical and architectural experts (as well
as legions of informed fans and concerned citizens) as grossly common,
bland, ambiguous, and terribly disconnected from the site's preeminent role
in New York history, including its internationally unmatched history in
Baseball. (Indeed, there are many dozens of Heritage Parks and Fields
across the country, including the Cleveland Indians "Heritage Park" - right
in the AL East!!!)
3) To name the
baseball field in Old Yankee Stadium Park, "BABE RUTH MEMORIAL FIELD" in
tribute to the most renowned player and icon in Baseball history, and to
replace the original "BABE RUTH MEMORIAL FIELD" which was destroyed to make
room for new Yankee Stadium. (BABE RUTH MEMORIAL FIELD was intended to be
a "permanent" tribute to Babe Ruth's immortal and unparalleled contributions
to the City of New York. It's destruction, along with the destruction of
"The House That Ruth Built", leaves the City devoid of any Public tribute to
America's greatest and most beloved sports figure.
In the near
future, we will also be applying to the U.S. Department of Interior
for long-overdue National Landmark status for the site of Old Yankee
Stadium, which will provide even further (stimulus and historic
preservation) funds available to the City of New York for the
preservation of Gate 2 and complete commemoration of "Old Yankee
Stadium Park."
On April 18,
1923, the New York Yankees opened the majestic Gates of Old
Yankee Stadium for the very first time. In true Ruthian
fashion, the Babe, "baptized the Stadium with a savage home
run", propelling the team to not only a Opening Day victory over
the rival Red Sox, but also to the franchise's first World
Championship season. The Yankees ultimately became the greatest
sports franchise in history, and "The House that Ruth Built" the
greatest Stadium in American history. Indeed, so stunningly and
immediately magnificent and important was the Stadium that it
was immediately compared by writers around the world to the
Roman Coliseum, and Pyramids of Ancient Egypt, the likes of
which had not been built in over two millennia.
In honor of The
Stadium's 87th Anniversary, its preeminent place in history, and
in tribute to all the greats and great events that have graced
its hallowed ground, the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee
Stadium & HistoryOfTheYankees.com will be participating in an
Anniversary Vigil & Tribute to Old Yankee
Stadium
Sunday, April 18, 2010
_______
Twelve Noon at old Babe Ruth Plaza
Prior
to 1:05 Yankees Game
at
New Yankee Stadium
We hope to see you there!
Attendees are Encouraged to Bring Flowers and
Other Tributes to Leave at the Stadium Site as a Final Farewell.
The
Committee to Commemorate to Old Yankee Stadium has the following
four (4) urgent missions:
1) To
Assure the new Park site at "OLD YANKEE Stadium Park" is
"world-class", as the City has promised it will be, properly
commemorating the history of Old Yankee Stadium. This urgently
includes, among other commemorations, preservation of Old Yankee
Stadium Gate 2 as a permanent commemorative feature at
Old Yankee Stadium Park. To achieve this, we have worked
extensively with the City of New York, and proposed the SAVE THE
Gate COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE and VOLUNTEER WORKER PROGRAM.
2) To name
the new Park site of Old Yankee Stadium "OLD YANKEE Stadium
Park", a
majestically unique and infinitely more appealing, accurate, and
appropriate name than "Heritage Field". The currently proposed name
has been widely criticized by Baseball, historical and architectural
experts (as well as legions of informed fans and concerned citizens)
as grossly common, bland, ambiguous, and terribly disconnected from
the site's preeminent role in New York history, including its
internationally unmatched history in Baseball. (Indeed, there are
many dozens of Heritage Parks and Fields across the country,
including the Cleveland Indians "Heritage Park" - right in the AL
East!!!)
3) To name
the baseball field in Old Yankee Stadium Park, "BABE RUTH MEMORIAL
FIELD" in tribute to the most renowned player and icon in Baseball
history, and to replace the original "BABE RUTH MEMORIAL FIELD"
which was destroyed to make room for new Yankee Stadium. (BABE RUTH
MEMORIAL FIELD was intended to be a "permanent" tribute to Babe
Ruth's immortal and unparalleled contributions to the City of New
York. It's destruction, along with the destruction of "The House
That Ruth Built", leaves the City devoid of any Public tribute to
America's greatest and most beloved sports figure.
4)
Application to the U.S. Department of Interior for
long-overdue National Landmark status for the site of Old
Yankee Stadium, which will provide even further (stimulus
and historic preservation) funds available to the City of
New York for the preservation of Gate 2 and complete
commemoration of "Old Yankee Stadium Park."
After extensive communication and lobbying with Mayor Bloomberg, the
Parks Department, and the Design Commission, the City of New York has accepted
the plan of the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium &
HistoryOfTheYankees.com to preserve the original balconies from Old Yankee
Stadium Gate 2, pictured above, for the People of New York!!!
These treasures, previously slated for complete destruction, will now be
permanently displayed at either Old Yankee Stadium Park (formerly known as
"Heritage Field"), or at an appropriate museum, as attested to in the attached
letter by the Parks Department to the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee
Stadium. Accordingly, the City's previous plan to totally destroy the
balconies has been scrapped instead.
We thank the City for this decision and pledge continuance of our full devotion
to further commemorating Old Yankee Stadium, working around-the-clock toward a
majestic Park design and national landmarking of the greatest site in the
history of American sports!!!
____
See you at the Vigil, on Sunday, April 18th, at Old Babe Ruth Plaza!!!
(Noon to 1, before the Game across 161st street, at NYS)
____
For Previous Media Releases, Stories & Related Videos, Please See:
COMMITTEE TO COMMEMORATE OLD
YANKEE Stadium, Petitioners
___________
EMERGENCY PETITION FOR
Public REVIEW & HEARING
REGARDING PRESERVATION OF
OLD YANKEE Stadium BALCONIES
___________
On February 22, 2010, the
Parks &
Recreation Department of New York City ("Parks & Recreation") proposed at
Public Hearing before a partial assembly of the Public Design Commission of
New York ("Design Commission") the complete destruction of original Old
Yankee Stadium (1923-1973), including historic Left Field Gate 2, leaving
NOTHING from the original Stadium for the People of New York.
Despite numerous,
long-standing, and exhaustively evidenced filings to the City of New York -
including to Parks & Recreation, as well as to the Design Commission -
proving beyond any doubt the Gate's preeminent historical importance, the
Parks proposal to destroy it was approved. Moreover, dramatic, and
dramatically-flawed, design changes to the design of "Old Yankee
Stadium Park" (formerly referred to as "Heritage Field") were also approved, though
they had never been revealed to the Public for review and comment. These
design change proposals were deliberately held from the Public,
until hearing when they were very briefly, unexpectedly, and
incompletely, revealed.
The City thoroughly
disregarded overwhelming evidence proving the importance and originality of
Gate 2 and other parts of the Stadium, some of it attached hereto. As a
consequence, the Parks Department attempted to destroy all of the Stadium.
Fortunately, representatives of our
Committee received inside intelligence and evidence that parts of the
Stadium - potentially worth millions of dollars - were in actuality being
preserved and stolen, for unlawful personal acquisition and sale - by people
and parties officially connected with the demolition, some with likely
organized crime connections. Learning and documenting this, the Committee
contacted the City, requesting immediate NYPD and FBI intervention and
investigation.
The FBI was requested because of first hand, photographic, and video,
evidence showing the involvement of parties from New Jersey, including some
connected to Turner Corporation, and others, who are known to be taking
valuable historic material from the Stadium.
Thanks to our Committee's
surveillance, investigation, and intervention, three (3) historic balconies
have been saved from the destruction and dumping they were officially
scheduled for. Other historic items from the Stadium - also being stolen
(officially dumped) - were also saved. This account of facts has been
partially reported, by Larry McShane, in the Daily News, as well as
around in many other media venues, around the city, state, nation, and
world.
The saving of these historic balconies
has rightfully received TREMENDOUS Public support and acclamation.
Now that these balconies have been
saved, they should be included in Old Yankee Stadium Park, as they easily
can be. However, in a shocking decision announced JUST THIS AFTERNOON,
the Parks Department - without any explanation or evidence whatsoever - that
they will NOT be including these balconies in the Park!!! Moreover, they are
planning to seek approval of excluding all these balconies - and other
original Stadium items saved through Committee identification and effort -
THIS MONDAY MORNING, WITHOUT A Public HEARING!!!!!!!!
Because all previous evaluations,
meetings and hearings held by City officials were based TOTALLY on
the COMPLETELY FALSE CITY PROPOSALS & ARGUMENT that NOTHING from the
original Stadium could be saved, there MUST - under the letter &
spirit of City law, rules & procedure - be a Public hearing to determine
what can and should now be kept in Old Yankee Stadium Park.
Pivotal parts of the Parks
Department proposals were and still are fatally flawed, in
that they were and still are based on the false
We, the Committee to Commemorate
Old Yankee Stadium - consisting of and representing Yankee Stadium experts,
fans, and citizens throughout the City, State, Nation, and World - hereby
petition for the immediate intervention of Mayor Michael Bloomberg to
TEMPORARILY STAY the destruction of Yankee Gate 2, and the implementation of
the Parks Department's proposed plan for Old Yankee Stadium Park, until such
time that all of the following twenty-nine (29) facts, arguments and
supporting evidence, are thoroughly and properly admitted, evaluated and
adjudicated by the City of New York. [The Design Commission failed and
refused to consider all these facts, ruling that their review was and is
limited to "aesthetics only" - disregarding therefore the vast majority of
facts, evidence, and reasons, compelling preservation of the Gate]:
(1) Original Yankee Stadium is the
most historically significant Stadium in American history. Indeed, it was
widely and expertly regarded the most culturally and architecturally
important Stadium in the history of the New World and the Western
Hemisphere. Not since the Roman Coliseum - on which it was architecturally
modeled - has there been a more important or popular Stadium. [The Stadium's
history is documented by thousands of articles, books, documentaries, films,
and video accounts. For a very quick and readily accessible visual
overviews, see the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium's videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZn1qCwMqLQ &
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAN7LfBtckw]
(2) Old Yankee Stadium is a New York,
national, and international icon. In fact, Mayor Bloomberg prominently
attested to the fact that, based on his extensive travels and experience,
it is one of New York's top three icons around the world, rivaled only by
the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty. [See, e.g., Yankee
Stadium: The Official Retrospective, 2008]
(3) Old Yankee Stadium was the most
important sports venue in American history. It is frequently referred to as
a "shrine" and "cathedral" because of its sublime significance in the
history of Baseball, most particularly during Baseball's "Golden Age"
(1923-1964) - when the New York Yankees were the greatest sports dynasty in
world history.
(4) When the City of New York
announced the granting of land and funding for building of a new Stadium for
the Yankee franchise, they promised the People of New York that they would
NOT destroy all of Old Yankee Stadium. In fact, they promised to save a
vast majority of the original outer "shell" and lower seating area. The
Mayor, Parks Department, Economic Development Council - as well as George
Steinbrenner and Yankee management - all Publicly backed this plan and
promise. Attached are two images of the City's original plan
(5) Reneging on their promise, the
City of New York abandoned the plan to preserve ANY part of the shell or
interior of the original Stadium, instead deciding to allow it to be
"deconstructed" and sold off (by the Yankees and Steiner Corporation) to
private bidders, leaving NOTHING from the Original Stadium on the historic
site, nor anything from it for the People of New York.
(7) When challenged on this stunning
reversal by the City, they claimed - largely through Parks Commissioner
Adrian Benepe - expressly and quite erroneously claimed that nothing from
the Original Stadium survived the 1970's renovation - only "some steel ...
and some of the bricks (sic)."
(8) Commissioner Benepe was
immediately and emphatically criticized for his erroneous conclusions
leading to his decision to destroy all of the Original Stadium. [See, e.g.,
(9) In order to help preserve part of
the Original Stadium, expert, fans, and citizens from around the city,
state, and nation, provided overwhelming evidence to Commissioner Benepe
that his understanding and decision to destroy all of the Original Stadium
was fatally flawed by a mis/dis evaluation of the Stadium's architectural
history. He has received hundreds of communications attesting to this fact,
but has disregarded them all, obdurately insisting that nothing was
original, and nothing original would be saved.
(10) Many of the expert communications
and evidential submissions Mr. Benepe has received - from architects,
historians, Public advocacy groups included - attested to the overwhelming
originality of Gate 2, and its perfect location for preservation within the
proposed new Park, now known as "Old Yankee Stadium Park." The Committee to
Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium has been one of those groups. See, e.g.,
(11) To support this incorrect
argument and position, against the overwhelming weight of expert findings
and evidence, the Commissioner then falsely claimed that the City's Landmark
Preservation Commission (the "LPC") had already investigated and ruled that
Gate 2 was not original or worthy of preservation. Despite repeated
requests for the records on which Mr. Benepe based his decision to tear down
the Gate, the Parks Department has not (and can not) produce any such LPC
findings or rulings. Multiple members of our Committee HAVE reviewed the
entire LPC case file, and there are NO records whatsoever regarding Gate 2.
(12) Thus, the basis of the
Parks
Department's decision to tear down Gate 2 is thoroughly erroneous, as proved
over and over. In truth, Gate 2 is dramatically original, up to 95% so,
including its recently revealed foundation and interior, with only a small
portion of its upper face renovated in the 1970's (IN COMPLETE ARCHITECTURAL
COMPORT WITH THE ORIGINAL 1920's DESIGN & APPEARANCE.)
(13) Gate 2 is so original in design
and appearance, in fact, that it is the only existing model for the Official
Logo of Old Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees' commemorative sleeve emblem,
attached hereto.
(14) Official Bronx County Historian
has also repeatedly advised Mr. Benepe and the Parks Department (along with
numerous top Yankee Stadium historians and historical architects) that the
Gate is original and should be reserved. He, too - along with numerous
other top Yankee Stadium historians and historic architects - was completely
disregarded. See, e.g.,
(15) In addition to calling for
the preservation of the Gate, Professor Ultan was also critical of Parks'
"historically-disconnected" proposal for the new Park, sagely observing
"What's missing from the Park plan is the architecture of the
Stadium
itself." Prominent architectural critic and National Trust for Historic
Preservation Board Member, Paul Goldberger, American Institute of Architect
New York President Rick Bell, former LPC Chairperson Sherida Bell, and other
experts, panned the plan as well. See,
(16) Past President of the Connecticut
AIA, a former Bronx resident and expert on Yankee Stadium, Jeffrey Bianco,
also criticized the plan, and called for preservation of the Gate, as have
Baseball, Yankee and Yankee Stadium historians and authors, Paul Doherty,
Bill Jenkinson, Mike Wagner, Mark Healey, and Harry Swanson, among many
others. Listen, e.g., to:
See, also, the endorsements of
Paul Doherty, Michael Wagner, and Brad Turnow, HistoryOfTheYankees.com - all
on file with the Design Commission.
(17) The Committee to
Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium successfully presented our case to the Design
Commission for preserving Gate 2 on October 26, leading the Commission also
to recognize and reject the profound flaws in the Parks Department's
preliminary plan. Our written submission, with extensive evidential
references, is below, followed by a news account of the Commission's
rejection.
(18) At this Hearing the
Parks
Department claimed saving the Gate would cost $10 Million dollars, because -
still wrongly claiming - it was "not original." After we revealed a Legacy
Bricks plan that could raise such funds - not withstanding emphatic and
well-evidenced proof that such an estimate was extravagantly high ("by an
order of magnitude or two") - the Department than increased its estimate to
over $15 Million, again without any evidence or explanation whatsoever.
Notably, the estimate does not include
any savings that would result from not having to demolish and remove the
Gate from the site where it presently stands.
(19) Subsequently, after
extensive Freedom of Information (FOIL) requests (on file with Parks
Department), our Committee learned that Parks was basing this amount on an
unsigned, unattributed, "summary cost estimate." When we pressed for further
records to explain what every expert (architects, certified construction
cost estimator, government contract experts, construction foremen, iron
workers, et al) unanimously found an outrageous, totally unfounded, and even
"laughable" estimate, we were told by Parks lawyers that there were none -
no date, no drawings, no data - not even the name, title, experience, or
credentials of who performed the alleged estimate, nothing. None were
provided to the Design Commission, either.
(20) To help resolve the order of
magnitude(s) difference between the Parks Departments cost estimate and
those from all of our experts, we repeatedly requested (more than a dozen
times) to perform a free-of-charge architectural, structural, and cost,
evaluation, of the Gate, by top experts, all experienced and bonded for
construction site work. [See Parks Department and City records] Each and
every time our requests were either totally ignored, or totally rejected,
falsely claiming security and safety prohibitions - while unbonded
construction worker girlfriends, baseball players, celebrities, film crews,
reporters, etc., visited every part of the construction site.
In contrast, our experts, all bonded
and extensively experienced for work on construction sites were all denied
access - to the most safe and secure area of the Stadium site, indeed one
that could even be visited from its outside sidewalk entrance.
(21) As one example of this
outrageous obstruction, please see the attached correspondence and speech of
architect and Yankee Stadium historian, Philip J. Reina, who our Committee
presented to the Parks Department as a free-of-charge independent Gate
evaluator.
The Parks Department denied Mr. Reina
access for an independent review, and even just the drawings used to conduct
the City's so-called cost estimate, because, according to them, IT WOULD
POSE A TERRORIST THREAT to the City of New York, if were to do so! [Official
reason given directly to Mr. Reina by high ranking Parks Official Frank
McCue, on Feb 18, 2010, for withholding Stadium drawings.] (Notwithstanding
that the Stadium is utterly empty and slated for complete destruction within
a month's time - by the City itself - not terrorists.)
This is how absurdly far the Parks
Department has gone to deny an independent cost evaluation for preserving
Gate 2.
(22) To further address the
alleged cost concern, our Committee, along with HistoryOfTheYankees.com,
voluntarily consulted with leading "legacy brick" authorities, most notably
the company which did the extremely financially and aesthetically successful
and well-received commemorative brick plazas and walkways at Citifield, and
many other major sports venues around the country. See, e.g.:
http://ccoys.blogspot.com/2009/11/save-Gate-commemorative-brick-drive.html.
This program could raise over $10 Million dollars, simultaneously enhancing
the Park's appeal and tourism, and consequently much-needed, year-round
revenue for the Yankee Stadium neighborhood. We offered our full and
free-of-charge help to make this "SAVE THE Gate COMMEMORATIVE BRICK DRIVE" a
major success. Additionally, we put the company who did "Fanwalk" for the
Mets directly in touch with the Parks Department.
(23) Despite this aesthetically
beautiful, widely-praised and very lucrative, funding opportunity, Parks
rejected it because - contrary to all well-established practices and
experience at many hundreds of similar sites around the world - "the bricks
will wear down" and people will inscribe the bricks with " 'I Hate the
Yankees' and things like that." [Parks Deputy Chief of Staff Rebecca Smith,
speaking officially for Commissioner Benepe,, at Parks Headquarters, on
behalf of the Department on February 1, at a meeting with our Committee.]
(24) Another of our Committee's other
cost-saving proposal - the SAVE THE Gate VOLUNTEER WORKER PROGRAM - was
unceremoniously shot down by Parks, at that same meeting [February 1, 2010,
at the Arsenal, in Central Park] Parks officials informed us that "the
unions will never allow us to use volunteer workers." This unattributed
charge against the union was not evidenced. In fact, FOIL requests of
Parks
for any evidence for such a claim reveal that it can not be backed up. It's
erroneous and derogatory speculation. Moreover, "the unions" will not
"lose" or "gain" any work if the City tears down the
Gate. Indeed, many
relevant union workers - as well as professionals - are active supporters of
all our efforts, including the Volunteer Worker Program, which would
eliminate virtually all labor costs associated with Gate Preservation.
There would be no shortage of
volunteers for saving the Gate.
(25) Revealing further error and
bullheadedness behind the Department's decision to destroy the
Gate (no
matter what facts, evidence and reasoning compel its preservation), they
also argued that our proposed design "would be an eyesore." This
against all independent expert and objective evidence, including
universal popular acclaim for the magnificent aesthetics of our proposed
Gate monument. See, e.g., the images of the proposal linked below, as
well as our 3-D video of it - WHICH WE WERE NOT PERMITTED TO SHOW AT THE
DESIGN COMMISSION' Public HEARING - thereby depriving the Commission of
a major piece of aesthetic evidence.
(26) Parks also argues that
preserving the Gate would take too long. This argument, at best, stems
from a severely poor and inaccurate estimate of the Gate's
well-documented originality - as well as from the above-cited half-page
cost-estimate which wrongly implies the need for far more extensive work
than truly necessary, as also does their erroneous argument that huge
trusses and pilings are required to preserve the Gate - another claim
emphatically rejected by independent construction experts. Furthermore,
it completely disregard the fact that the new Park will not be opening
for almost two years, and all independent experts estimate only a couple
of months work, at very most, to save the Gate.
(27) Likewise, the argument that
the Gate will take up too much space is completely wrong. It will take
up only less than 1% of the new Park's square footage, in a location
where it will not interfere whatsoever with Park activities or design.
(28) At Parks Headquarters,
Parks
officials said their decision was also based on their beliefs that the
Gate would "cast big shadows" and "suck up air." No evidence was
presented or can be presented for such wild conclusions. First of all
the fact that New Yankee Stadium is east of the Gate obviates any
concerns of morning "shadows", and its location on the extreme east side
of the new Park eliminates afternoon shadows. In between obviously
creates no deleterious shadows, either.
As for "sucking up air", that's
unsubstantiated nonsense also.
These headstrong arguments also
ignore the fact that the original City plan include 360 degrees of
buildings around the Park. See attached image of plan with outer shell
and extensive seating.
(29) Finally, after Publicly
making it so well known how closely they've worked the Yankees on all
matters pertaining to the new Park, the Parks Department have repeatedly
indicated that they were motivated to destroy all of Original Yankee
Stadium because "the Yankees don't want to save any part of it, so why
should we." [Deputy Director Rebecca Smith, February 1, 2010, at The
Arsenal meeting to members of the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee
Stadium and HistoryOfTheYankees.com]
Equally outrageous and destructive
was the very Public pronouncement shocking by Bronx Parks Commissioner
Hector Aponte, at the Community Board 4 Meeting on February 18, that
"the Yankees want you to go across the street to the new Stadium, they
don't want to save anything from the Old Stadium ... The Gate will be
gone." He also dramatically (mis/dis)informed the audience of mostly
local Bronx residents that Gate 2 was ruled non-original [by the LPC.]
with complete certitude that Gate 2 was not original and the (LPC) -
thereby fomenting ill-informed local opposition to saving it.
The Design Commission also
expressed their belief that the Yankees were against saving any part of
the Old Stadium. [For example, at the Public Hearing of October 26,
2010.]
These beliefs, motivations, and
pronouncements have made it impossible to get a fair hearing to save a
treasure that rightfully belongs to the People of New York, not the
Yankees, who already have been generously given a new Stadium, and
rights to sell treasures of the Old Stadium, at very great expense to
the People of New York. If the Steinbrenner-owned Yankees truly don't
want to save any part of the Original (pre-Steinbrenner) Stadium, as it
appears from their lack of visible support, Public reports by the
Parks
Department, that should have had absolutely no bearing or influence on
the City's decision.
__________
Please also see the Written
Submission and Speech of the Committee to Committee to Commemorate Old
Yankee Stadium, to the Design Commission, dated and submitted,
respectively, on February 18 and 22, 2010.
__________
On the basis of these
twenty-nine (29) facts, reasons, and supporting evidence - separately
and collectively - the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
requests an immediate
A FULL Public REVIEW AND
HEARING, INCLUDING
A FULL REVIEW BY Public DESIGN
COMMISSION OF NEW YORK
TO PRESERVE THE THREE (3)
HISTORIC BALCONIES FROM
OLD YANKEE Stadium
AS WELL AS MAYORAL PROTECTION
AGAINST THE SALE OR DESTRUCTION OF THESE BALCONIES AND OTHER PRESERVED
ITEMS (INCLUDING THE "OLD PLAYERS' ENTRANCE", AND ARCHED VENTS) FROM any
sale, theft, distribution, deconstruction, demolition, or structural
compromise, until all of the above is fully and properly heard,
investigated, and adjudicated, in the setting of a Public HEARING!
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.
Respectfully submitted to the
Honorable Mayor Michael Bloomberg, via Mayoral Attorney William Heinzen,
the Public Design Commission, and the Parks Department, with the request
that the Mayor's Office and Mayor be forwarded this EMERGENCY PETITION
immediately upon its receipt:
In
an absolutely stunning and unexpected move, the Parks Department of New York
has reneged on repeated promises and explicit assurances that they would
save three (3) historic balconies from Old Yankee Stadium for the People of
New York, as confirmed to the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
and HistoryOfTheYankees.com, and reported in the Daily News, less than three
weeks ago:
Yesterday, the Parks Department, shockingly declared - at a hearing
yesterday before New York's Public Design Commission - that they now have NO
plans whatsoever to save or incorporate the historic balconies at Old Yankee
Stadium Park - the new Park to be built built on the site of Old Yankee
Stadium. (This "FINAL" hearing was not scheduled, Publicly noticed, or
conducted, in compliance with City law, rule, and policy - thus further
violating the Public's right of review.)
To prevent and
reverse this horrendous decision - which was not afforded the Public review
required by law - the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium petitioned
yesterday for the emergency intervention and legal action of both Mayor
Michael Bloomberg, and by City of New York Public Advocate, Bill de Basio,
as detailed at the link immediately below:
Emergency Petition for Public Review and
Hearing Regarding Preservation of Old Yankee Stadium Balconies - Click Here!
More
evidence and information is available from the parties identified below.
For Previous
Media Releases, Stories & Related Videos, Please See:
The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
