Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

I can tell you one thing, there aren’t too many people crying in the south Bronx over the Yankees losing season. Since the day I set foot in my district, I have spoken to several people who inevitably direct their conversation over to a shared hatred of this team. The Yankees are like the neighborhood bully. Big, dominating, loaded with cash, and able to do whatever the hell they want. Take over a local park and plant a big new fancy stadium….check. Bully local food merchants, tell them to step away from their turf…check. Hike up ticket prices so none of the little guys can come in and play…check.

Fauzia Rahman, a local food vendor, makes some of the best jerk chicken I have ever tasted. She cooks it on the spot at her food cart on the corner of Sheridan Avenue and 161st in the Bronx where she’s been stationed since 1996. Fauzia told me today that a few years ago she was bullied by police to move her cart further away from the old Yankee Stadium. She kept asking them why. To which the cops supplied no answer. Well I have come to the conclusion this happened because her cooking skills outmatch the over priced hotdogs and pretzels sold a few blocks away. Like so many other people I have spoken to over the past couple weeks she resented the fact that the new Yankee Stadium has taken away much needed park land. Built right on top of Macomb’s Dam Park, the new stadium has taken the place of tennis courts and a running track.

As I was walking back towards the subway I happened to over hear a converstation between three high school students. My ears perked when I heard, “Man I hate the Yankees.” Then the other girl replied, “Yeah now we can’t play tennis.” Hmmmm……. this sounds spicy. I didn’t want to appear like a nosy pervert leering over them, so I said,”Hi I’m a writer, tell me why do you hate the Yankees so much?” The girls had just gotten out of school and their social studies teacher, Mr. Murphy, had them thinking. “Well our tax payer money is going into building the stadium, but it takes it out of education.” I apologize for my poor reporting kids, I will verify this, but I heard this info today, I’m on a roll, and the blog is due tomorrow. What I do know is that YES the Yankees association has dipped into public funds to roll ahead with construction. Antoinette (a.k.a Candace), Jennifer and Shadyea, said that today they had to leave their textbooks at South Bronx Prep school because there aren’t enough to go around. It’s pretty amazing that there isn’t enough money to fund the purchase of more textbooks for local schools and yet there was more than enough to construct a whole new ball park. I also found this following article written by Juan Gonzalez of the NY Daily News particularly interesting. He goes on to explain that in 2007 the city assesed that the land under the new Yankee Stadium was valued at 10 times the market value of the adjacent land in this South Bronx neighborhood. The article reveals the disparities between land values of the old stadium and the new, even though they’re only a few blocks apart.

Now that the stadium is due to open in April of next year, the Yankees association better take the time to give back to the community that has hosted their team for the past century.

Here’s Babe Ruth’s 60th home run and Queen.