There is an excellent article in today's Daily News discussing the fact that after three years of construction of the new Yankee Stadium, parks and ball fields that were promised to the community are still non existent.

The piece written by Juan Gonzales asks why did the Mets immediately begin to tear down Shea Stadium after last season and the old Yankee Stadium has only now just begun the demolition process.

I have read a few articles over the past three years describing how the Mets deal was so much cleaner than the Yankees. It really doesn't matter to me because my tax money had nothing to do with the construction of either ballpark. But as a fan of the Mets, it always irks me when I see their ownership derided in the press for this and that when in fact, they appeared to have played by the rules established at the outset of both projects. On the other hand, the Yankees steamrolled their community with promises of replacing park land taken from Macombs Dam Park where the new stadium stands and elsewhere but yet nothing has happened.

The Yankees also went way over budget with their new stadium and had to get the city to kick in hundreds of millions more in tax exempt bonds to finish it. Meanwhile, the Mets needed just 83 million more but that was from a budget of bonds that were originally approved. The Mets were sure they could get the job done for under what they requested and only asked for the balance when they knew they couldn't.

I have not been to the new Yankee Stadium so I cannot offer my opinion to it's beauty and amenities. However, I have been to Citi Field and for half of what it cost to build Yankee Stadium, the Mets did an outstanding job. Citi Field takes a back seat to no current major league ballpark. With all that was built into the new Yankee Stadium, I'm not shocked it cost more than Citi Field but why was it twice the price? That seems extraordinary.

I would hope there are city officials who can pressure the Yankees and other to get these parks and fields built for the kids of the Bronx. You know, those kids who will never be able to afford to go to Yankee Stadium.