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February 16, 2009
Audit cries foul, says Yanks stiff city on rent - again
NY Daily News
by Adam Lisberg
Not content with a sweetheart deal funneling hundreds of millions of public dollars toward the building of a new Yankee Stadium, the Sultans of Swag still insist on trying to nickel-and-dime the city's taxpayers at every turn.
The Yankees shortchanged the city to the tune of $65,511 for Yankee Stadium rent payments in the first three months of 2008, a new audit from Controller William Thompson shows.
The Bombers do not dispute the audit and plan to repay the money, just as it has paid millions in rent charges after similar challenges in the past eight years.
"The Yankees consistently overstate their rent deductions, effectively underpaying the city the proper rent due," Thompson said in a statement. "The Yankees have understated the rent due to the city by more than $3.7million over 33 quarters, which indicates a pattern thatgoes beyond an accounting error."
Sneering Yankees' president Randy Levine continues his ongoing audition for the role of the villain in the next Batman film.
"If I was Bill Thompson, I'd start paying more attention to Mike Bloomberg than the Yankees," Levine told the Daily News, "or else he's going to find himself in a situation similar to a cellar-dwelling baseball team."
Posted by eric at February 16, 2009 12:21 PM