Big Bucks For Bronx Bombers

Life is good for baseball teams in New York, with the Yankees and Mets getting millions of dollars, on top of millions already distributed, in tax-free bonds for their new stadiums.

The city’s Industrial Development Agency voted 13-0 Jan. 16 to give the Mets $88.2 million in extra money, according to the New York Daily News. That’s on top of $547 million in taxpayer-subsidized money already provided.

The Yankees got $370 million in an 11-to-1 vote, on top of $942 million already received.

“The people shouldn’t have to lose so the Yankees can win,” John Graham, deputy to the city controller and the only person to vote against the subsidy, told the Daily News.

The deals will cost taxpayers about $1.2 billion, the paper noted, including lost revenue and infrastructure improvements. The Yankees, for instance, are expected to benefit from an upgraded subway station and the replacement of lost parkland.

Yankees President Randy Levine called the subsidy a “team victory” and criticized opposition.

“All the people who opposed this, this is about punishing the Yankees, make them pay higher interest costs than any other professional team,” Levine told the Daily News.