Bx. cheers soccer
You can’t stop a ‘Charging Bull’ Most favor building stadium for NYCFC, poll shows CUNY profs get salary raise of 71%
Goal! A majority of South Bronx residents are keen on the oftfloated idea of building a soccer stadium in the borough, according to the results of a local survey released Wednesday.
Nearly two-thirds of those polled said a new soccer arena in the Bronx is “in general, a good idea,” according to the 161st St. Business Improvement District.
“We wanted to hear from the community before a stadium plan is introduced,” 161st St. BID Executive Director Cary Goodman said. “The results show the importance of including local opinions.”
The New York City Football Club, a Major League Soccer franchise owned in part by the Yankees and a billionaire from Abu Dhabi, has been seeking a permanent home since it formed in 2013 — and playing most of its home games at Yankee Stadium.
Constant rumors have been kicked around the team’s original goal to build on a site near 153rd St., just blocks from Yankee Stadium and currently the home to the GAL Manufacturing factory, but other possibilities have been floated.
Across Long Island Sound, Queens officials have not been shy about courting the team and toying with the idea of transforming the Willets Point area near Citi Field into an arena.
NYCFC is currently hosting its playoff games in Queens thanks to the Bronx Bombers just-concluded postseason run.
A majority of Bronxites, 76%, say they would welcome the idea of a domed stadium down the street from the Yankees’ home. But while the Yanks don’t pay property taxes, that’s not a perk most neighbors think should be passed on to the newcomers.
Three out of four residents think the stadium owners should be required to pay property taxes, while 90% of the business owners feel that way. More than half of those polled believe the stadium should be owned by a combination of the owners, government and neighborhood. An additional 10% want the neighborhood to own it exclusively.
Earlier this year, insiders told The News that the Yankees and NYCFC’s parent club Manchester City remain hopeful they can reach a deal and make an announcement about a new stadium by the end of the season.
NYCFC spokesman Sam Cooke said the team is still searching for a home, but said the Bronx remains a contender.
“NYCFC is actively pursuing a permanent home in N.Y.C. and exploring several options,” he said.
City University of New York adjunct professors won a major raise Wednesday, as university officials announced a contract deal that boosts minimum starting pay for parttime staff by 71%.
The agreement raises the minimum rate of pay for a course from $3,222 to $5,500, and to $6,750 per course for the highest level adjuncts, city officials announced Wednesday.
It also provides raises for lab technicians, and allocates more money for graduate students who teach.
The contract, which has yet to be ratified, comes on the heels of a bitter back-andforth after the previous contract expired in 2017.
Barbara Bowen, president of the Professional Staff Congress union, called the contract a “turning-point in the history of CUNY’s treatment of contingent faculty. It is a principled and imaginative contract,” she said.