Mets’ fund for ‘eligible’ Citi workers
On Friday evening, the Mets offered a vague glimpse into how the organization intends to allocate its million dollar commitment to ballpark workers impacted by the coronavirus.
The Mets’ tweeted out their $1.2 million “disaster assistance” fund to provide financial assistance to to “eligible seasonal game day staff.”
Money from the fund will be distributed to assist outof-work ballpark staffers with food, medical care, shelter and “other vital needs.” Those needs arose due to a complete loss of expected income from Citi Field while Major League Baseball remains on an indefinite hiatus.
The Mets program doesn’t guarantee employees who meet the team’s eligibility requirements will receive aid, resembling the Yankees’ $1.4 million plan for their seasonal workers. Like their crosstown rivals, each outof-work staffer must submit an online application to receive aid, and the team has sole discretion over which workers get money and how much they receive for their hardship.
Notably, the Mets did not include subcontracted ballpark workers among those eligible to fill out the application, which the team says will be released on April 7, nearly two weeks after the team’s initially scheduled Opening Day. However, the Mets stated that employees staffed through ballpark operations partners Aramark, Alliance and Impark would receive the “remainder” of the money left in the fund. When these workers would receive money and how much they will be left with is presently unclear.
In a response to the Daily News’ request for clarification on the fund allocation process, a representative of the Mets replied with links to the tweets containing their announcement. “[The letter online] addresses those third party workers like Aramark and others. The second tweet addresses the process.”