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Did Sox get a steal with Yawkey Way deal?
By adamg on Fri, 09/27/2013 - 10:05am
The Globe reports the BRA yesteday approved the Yawkey Way deal with the Sox.
Meanwhile, the Herald reports the board brought in some muscle from Municipal Protective Services to stand guard in case people upset with the nearly $8 million tax break the BRA approved for the luxury Filene's Memorial Hole project tried to lunge at board members or something. The Herald reports no lunges or spitballs were launched.
Free tagging:
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Comments
Menino's cronies at the BRA
Menino's cronies at the BRA are looting what they can before getting bounced by the next mayor. This backroom giveaway is theft from the city and citizens of Boston.
"Menino's cronies" ? Who are
"Menino's cronies" ? Who are you, a Boston Herald headline writer?
Are the "fat cats" "lining their pockets"? Is Tammany getting their usual 25% on the cash value of the deal?
Cronies as in the Menino
Cronies as in the Menino appointed members of the BRA board all voted for this sham while the one board member not appointed by his honor voted opposed.
Meninos farewell gifts to his
Meninos farewell gifts to his contributers is costing taxpayers a lot of money, and its still months to go.
Why are these two issues conflated?
I get neighbors being upset about the closing of some streets around Fenway. I disagree, but I get it. But this would seem to me to be a completely different issue than tax giveaways to business who aren't actually promising anything in return, such as jobs or benefits to the economy...So why do I keep hearing these two things mentioned in the same breath?
I think you are missing the
I think you are missing the part about how the Sox will pay 7 million and own the streets FOREVER when they make around 2 million a year off the streets. The BRA is stupidly getting a tiny one time payment instead of a yearly percentage of what is going to be a hundred + million dollar cash cow for the RedSox over the course of the next century.
Could they have got a better
Could they have got a better deal? Probably. But those streets were offering the city nothing more than parking meter revenue before the Sox thought of throwing some concession stands out there. Now the city is getting $735k/year to close the streets for about 500 hours every year. Anyone complaining about the lack of a "public process" in this case has a lot of complaining to do about every other capricious and arbitrary act by city corporations.
You are incorrect. The city
You are incorrect. The city used to get money from independent street vendors that sold food and other stuff on the street.
They have been pushed to the other street and it sounds like they arent going to be selling new licenses to sell there either, letting them slowely disapear. You may think its better to go with the corporation (Fenway Sports Inc.) but it wasnt red sox or nothing, Menino has been pushing away independent vendors there for awhile at the behest of the Red Sox, much as he is beginning to do in downtown crossing.
Has anyone remembered that we
Has anyone remembered that we are militarily involved with countries that have inspired terrorism? The Boston Marathon bombing should have awoken folks to the catastrophic potential of a terror attack on Fenway Park.
Not the city
Boston gets nothing. $0.00. The BRA gets all the money and it does not share with the city. The taxpayers lose revenue forever and the land belongs to the BRA, which took it.
This is a topic that even the press doesn't get or keeps quiet/
Of course the press keeps, quiet, Menino hires them all
Rather difficult / uncomfortable to do a report critical of Menino when say, the best man or maid of honor in your wedding is now a Menino spokesperson. Or if that spokesperson is the Godparent of your kid. Or even if they used to occupy the cubicle next to you in the newsroom. Anyone in Menino's press office who isn't former Boston media? Even buffoonish BRA Director Peter Meade, heavily involved in this charade, is former WBZ. How about the spokespeople at BPD? Even, almost laughably, the Parks Department? As I have written before, Menino's cadre of ex-Boston media spokespeople provide better insulation than Owens-Corning. As Beacon Hill debates a shield law, perhaps they ought to include a "yield law", barring former media people from working for the government for a period of time, much like Washington bars former Congressmen from becoming lobbyists for a year.
In 20+ years, can anyone recall a seriously critical series on this administration, except perhaps the illegally deleted email scandal that went nowhere? Even the series on the taxi-scandal allowed Menino to "demand reform" even though the guy in charge of taxi's had been working in an administrative, civilian role for the BPD throughout Menino's term as scandalous medallion owners donated to the Mayor. One can only pray for a Republican president / Republican U.S. Attorney in 2016 and hope that the statute of limitations hasn't run out. Federal charges, if any, usually result in conviction and serious time, with the exception of Tommy Finneran (D-Boston) convicted but not imprisoned.
No meter revenue
The street is signed for free 2-hour parking.
Just put it out to bid ,how
Just put it out to bid ,how hard is that to do ? Transparency is our friend, quiets the naysayers too.Let the private sector money do the talking out in the clear of day.
Void / Dup See above ^
Void / Dup See above ^
Surprised
I'm surprised they were able to wake up the MPS officers from their slumber in the booth in govt center
As a footnote to all this ,
As a footnote to all this , on TV today the '' Eating Andelmans '' have some sort of food shindig on Landsdowne street, and maybe extending to Yawkey way too. As the Sox are in Baltimore this doesnt seem baseball related. so there you go, Maybe these boys can bid on the food rights to those streets, as they have good food eating genes , going back to calling all hot dogs to the safari father , Sir Edward of Andelman , who never saw a chinese food restaurant he didnt like as well. Bid it out, stop all the controversy already , the Sox have enough ways to make money. Does Rico cover business conspiracies? , maybe he should !
Don't worry
In a few years, the Red Sox are going to realize how stupid they were to buy the rights when they can't trade the street to the Dodgers for Hollywood or Vine.
They are also going to pay the city a second time to just buy Yawkey Way from the city and make it a permanent part of Fenway Park. It will give them continuity to their official store and save them money in having to roll in and out all of their gear every game. It will be our version of Baltimore's Eutaw Street.
Think I'm dreaming? BU already made the practice of buying up side streets from the city a reality when it purchased and shut off the roads behind Comm Ave next to the Pike. That section of Yawkey Way is actually less important for parking in Fenway/Kenmore than the BU streets were. Red Sox contractors, etc. parked there most of the time anyways and could still do so on non-game days. You can still outlet onto Van Ness and get to Brookline St that way. They could easily argue for buying the section of Van Ness that lines the ballpark too since they shut that down for employee/player/media parking every game as well.
Lansdowne street will
Lansdowne street will disappear to the public and become a miniature entertainment courtyard in consortium with Patrick Lyons and they will deck over the pike and connect to Kenmore square. The Red Sox own version of Camden Yards , Boston style. All that will be needed is the trolley cars somewhere!