For Immediate Release: Monday, May 17, 2010
Historic Balconies From Gate 2 at Old Yankee Stadium Again in Danger
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The City of New York Reneges on Promise to Use the (3) Three Historic Balconies From Gate 2 on the Site of “Old Yankee Stadium Park”
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The Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium & HistoryOfTheYankees.com Propose Donation of Historic Gate 2 Balconies to Museums
Last month (on April 10, 2010), there appeared in the New York Daily News, an article by Larry McShane, entitled 3 Yankee Balconies Saved for Park (inserted below) documenting the promise of the New York City Parks Department to display Balconies saved from Left Field Gate 2 as commemorative treasures at Old Yankee Stadium Park - the new park being built on the site of Old Yankee Stadium. (formerly unofficially, and with wide criticism, referred to as Heritage Field.)
Tragically and stunningly, things have changed.
In a surprise and unexplained reversal, without providing any detail, the Parks Department has now informed the Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium & HistoryOfTheYankees.com - the two citizen groups responsible for advocating, saving and preserving the Balconies for the public - that they have now decided NOT to display these historic artifacts at the new park - putting the Balconies, once again, in extreme danger of sale, theft, destruction, or other abuse against the public interest.
As a consequence, in petitions and correspondence to the Mayor's Office and other officials, our groups have urgently implored Mayor Bloomberg to personally insure these irreplaceable treasures be promptly donated to a museum or museums, which can and will properly respect, care for, and display these majestic treasures.
To correctly expedite and facilitate this proposal, we have specifically recommended and are in communication with the following museums, in order of preference:
1. The National Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstown, New York)
2. The Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC)
3. Babe Ruth Birthplace (Baltimore, Maryland)
4. Bronx Historical Society (Bronx, New York)
We recommend the three balconies be divided among willing museums.*
* As a provisional measure, one balcony could be loaned by the City to the New York Yankees; on the agreement the Yankees prominently display it at the new stadium.
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For further information, documentation and imagery, please contact the following:
Chris Jones
Committee to Commemorate Old Yankee Stadium
804-639-9472
Brad Turnow
www.HistoryOfTheYankees.com
516-523-4749
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