As the operator of the taxpayer-financed Yankee Stadium parking garages heads toward default, there's no longer any question that providing so much parking in such a transit-rich location was a mistake on the scale of Carl Pavano's contract. The decision to give up $2.5 million in city taxes and $5 million in state revenue has proven a poor investment indeed. The question, at this point, is what comes next.
One idea, from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., is to convert one of the garages into a hotel. "One of the older garages is perfect for hotel development," said John DeSio, a spokesperson for Diaz. Diaz advocated for a new Bronx hotel in his State of the Borough address two weeks ago, saying that "a new hotel would create hundreds of good-paying jobs offering health benefits, pension plans, and a chance for its workers to have a better life."
While the garages were built on what used to be public parks, the South Bronx is unlikely to see that parkland return. "We have to come up with a plan that not only benefits the neighborhood but is palatable for the bondholders," explained DeSio. The bondholders will have to okay any new use for the garages, so it will have to be a revenue-generator.
In terms of parking policy more broadly, DeSio said that while there aren't any major developments where parking is an issue currently being considered by the borough president's office, "I'm sure that we'd have to take to heart what happened here in the future." (Plans for a new East Bronx mall anchored by a Target are too preliminary to comment on for now, he said.) DeSio also suggested that the private sector will notice this high-profile case of wasting resources on providing an excessive supply of parking.
