Yankee Stadium Saga: Thompson Attacks and Brodsky Subpoenas

After staying relatively quiet for years on Mayor Bloomberg’s deal for a new Yankee Stadium, Comptroller Bill Thompson has come out swinging, as today he attacked the Bloomberg administration for “incredible mismanagement” of the project.

“Anybody can see that this is simply a bad deal for New York,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Thompson has offered occasional criticism on the issue before—the 2009 mayoral hopeful issued a report in November that found the Yankees improperly deducted $11 million in rent payments and other fees—though this is by far his loudest condemnation to date.

That he has apparently become an opponent makes life a bit more difficult for the Bloomberg administration, as Mr. Thompson sits on the board of the Industrial Development Agency, the city agency that approves tax-free bonds. The IDA has scheduled its hearing on a new round of tax-free bonds for the Yankees and Mets for Thursday.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky sent out a statement this morning saying he issued subpoenas to Seth Pinsky, the president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, and Randy Levine, president of the Yankees, to compel the two individuals to testify at his hearing on the topic tomorrow.

Mr. Brodsky scheduled the hearing late last week, but the Bloomberg administration demurred, saying timing was short and Mr. Pinsky and his agency were busy, as the event was a day before the mayor’s State of the City speech. (According to an e-mail we got from the Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York, Mr. Pinsky was scheduled to address that group at a luncheon tomorrow at noon.)

“Subpoenas, as always, are a last resort, but in this case were necessary,” Mr. Brodsky said in a statement.