By a 4-1 ratio, city voters said they would like the Yankees
to stay in the Bronx rather than move, according to a Quinnipiac
College poll reported in today's NEWSDAY. Liz Willen writes that
72% of those polled want the city to upgrade Yankee Stadium and
improve the crime-plagued area around it while just 17% said
they'd like to see a new facility built on Manhattan's West Side.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who is pushing for a domed, multipurpose
stadium on the West Side, faulted the poll for not including a
backup plan in case the Yankees decide to leave the Bronx.
Giuliani: "If they refuse to play in the Bronx or threaten not
to, then what?" Of Bronx residents polled, 86% favored keeping
the Yankees, while 8% opted for the West Side site. Among
Manhattanites, 71% voted to keep the team in the Bronx and 15%
opted for the West Side (NEWSDAY, 4/19). These results coincide
with a N.Y. DAILY NEWS poll where a "resounding" 71% want to keep
the team in Yankee Stadium with improvements to the Bronx
neighborhood. The poll of 607 city residents, conducted by Blum
& Weprin Associates, also found that 41% would support a
multipurpose West Side stadium, while 47% would oppose it.
However, only 20% said they would endorse the plan if taxpayers
must shoulder even part of the cost (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/19).
PAY BACK: The Yankees and the city of New York are close to
settling a dispute over how much the team owes in back rent.
Davis Sussman, Yankees' General Counsel, said the amount won't
exceed $300,000. The dispute is over the lease with the city
which allows the Yankees to deduct the cost of maintaining Yankee
Stadium from the amount they pay rent. The city has alleged the
team has made errors in determining maintenance expenses (N.Y.
TIMES, 4/19).
