Seared by relentless criticism of pricey luxury boxes the city scored at the new Yankee and Mets stadiums, Mayor Bloomberg gave in yesterday and said he’ll sell back the perks to pump up a cash-starved treasury.
The administration is asking both teams to peddle the boxes – the priciest go for $850,000 – to the highest bidders, and put the money in the city kitty over the next five years.
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By then, Bloomberg would be out of office if he wins a third term, and the next mayor would decide what to do with the suites.
The Yankees have guaranteed the city will receive at least $100,000 a year. A similar deal is being negotiated with the Mets.
Boxes at the new Yankee Stadium have been fetching $600,000 to $850,000. The Mets’ Citi Field is pricing them at $275,000 to $500,000.
Senior Bloomberg aides had fought hard to get the luxury boxes, describing the perk in internal e-mails as “a big issue to the mayor” during negotiations with the teams in 2006.
The firestorm of controversy erupted early last fall with state and federal investigations into how the teams and the administration went about making the deals.
In September, a congressional subcommittee scrutinized the issues of ballpark funding and luxury perks.
At the same time, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens/Brooklyn) – demanded the city sell off the boxes.
The mayor’s white flag comes just a week before the city’s Industrial Development Agency is scheduled to approve triple tax-free status for bonds the teams are securing to finish their projects – $260 million for the Yankees and $82 million for the Mets.
Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester), who has investigated the IDA deal, called the surrender a smokescreen.
“This is just an embarrassment,” he said. “The city is broke, we can’t fund the MTA, we can’t fund schools, and we’re giving them $400 million. And, by the way, we’re giving up free luxury suites. This comes under the heading of ‘give me a break.’ ”
One source said Bloomberg is throwing in the towel on the boxes because “this has become a hot-button issue.”
As The Post first reported, the Yankees were initially reluctant to hand over the boxes, but relented under pressure to win financing for a new stadium now projected to cost $1.36 billion.
In a letter to the Yankees dated Dec. 15, 2008, Seth Pinsky, president of the city’s Economic Development Corp., said when the deal was struck, “it was assumed the facilities would be available primarily to future city administrations.”
Given the recent extension of term limits by the City Council, it’s possible the facilities would be available to the current administration for several seasons. Pinsky wrote the city will “waive its right to use the facilities for those baseball seasons during which Michael Bloomberg holds the office of mayor.”