Much ado has been made about the Yankees' desire to get another $350 million or so in tax-free bonds to finish their stadium.

Not to downplay the subsidy involved in tax-free bonds, but the press has been filled with rather misleading headlines and langauge suggesting that the team is asking for $400 million in public funds (from Metro: “Yankees ask City for $400M More”) to finish the new stadium.

But the actual effect on city and state coffers, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office, is far more marginal, at least when compared with the amount of additional financing the Yankees are seeking. The IBO estimates that a $350 million tax-free 40-year bond for the team would cost the city $3.6 million in net present value and $6.7 million for the state, according to IBO spokesman Doug Turetsky. The federal government would take a substantially bigger hit: $72.6 million, which is perhaps why the feds are pushing to amend the rules while the city and state are resisting.  read more »

Phil Rizzuto, the former MVP Yankee shortstop and baseball commentator, died today at the age of 89.  read more »