By RACHEL BREITMAN

Highbridge Horizon
Twice a day, college freshman Ramon Acosta, 18, exercises at the Joseph Yancey Track and Field in John Mullaly Park.

When construction begins in Macombs Dam Park and John Mullaly Park to build the new Yankee Stadium, expected to start next year and finish in time for the 2009 season, Acosta will lose his workout space. Though he mourns this loss, he said, “Give me 10 more championships, and I guess it is okay."

Acosta echoed the mixed feelings of many in the Highbridge neighborhood about the plans for a new stadium. In the wake of controversial campaigns to construct stadiums for the Nets in Brooklyn and the Jets in Manhattan, rebuilding “The House that Ruth Built” has caused some anxiety for taxpayers, housing advocates and environmental activists.

On June 15, the Yankees, along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, released formal plans for a new $800 million stadium. While the team has agreed to foot much of the bill for a new 50,800 seat open-air stadium, the city and state will supply funding for increased infrastructure and local development.

“We have reached an agreement to build a stunning new stadium for the New York Yankees, as well as new public parks and recreational facilities that will continue to drive the incredible renaissance taking place in the south Bronx,” said Bloomberg, in a press release.

This came only days after the mayor had introduced plans for a new Mets stadium in Queens that could be used for the 2012 Olympics.

What will be done with the current space, considered hallowed ground by many baseball fans?

“That’s up to the city, not us,” said Randy Levine, the Yankees president.

The Parks Department plans to preserve the playing field with its current outfield dimensions, dugouts and about 3,500 field-level seats around home plate.

“We will work with the community to determine what elements should be incorporated into a new structure that would serve as a gateway to what will be called ‘Heritage Field’,” said Warner Johnston, spokesperson for the Parks Department.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión shared his own vision for redevelopment of the park in his February “State of the Borough Address,” including the creation of little league fields, a baseball museum, a new public high school for sports careers and possibly a hotel. To improve transportation, the city has discussed an expanded ferry landing on the Harlem River waterfront and a new Metro North train station.

The city would pay $135 million of these infrastructure costs, with another $75 million coming from the state. This may still leave a gap of more funds needed for building and renovating the area around the park.

While increased local commerce could be a boon to storeowners, the cost of housing would likely soar as well.

Local activists, like Gilberto Rivera of Nos Quedamos, a non-profit affordable housing group, have joined together in an organization called Bronx Voices to demand that the community’s needs be included in the plans.

“We are working for the community,” Rivera said.

“What is going to happen to merchants, and will housing be displaced?” Rivera asked. “We don’t want to shut it down, but we want to know what is happening in our own backyard. We are concerned about garbage, traffic, trucks.”

Park advocates also want to make sure the lost parkland is replaced.

“The Bronx has the least amount of street trees of any borough,” said Rowena Daly, communications director of New Yorkers for Parks.

David Mojica, district manager for Community Board 4, was also anxious about the disruptions to community life from closing the park.

“Activities are going to be lost,” said Mojica. “They have to replace [them] with new baseball fields, benches, state of the art plans."

Anne Fenton, press secretary for the borough president, said Carrión “absolutely will not give up a large parcel of parkland without getting more.” She said that Carrión expected Yankee Stadium to be an area of economic development, bringing people and money into the Bronx.

Not everyone is so confident about the earning power of a new stadium.

“Stadiums are not good development tools,” said Doug Turetsky, chief of staff for the city’s Independent Budget Office. "They’re not big revenue generators. It sits unused for most of the year. However, it really depends on how it is integrated. In Denver, the new stadium there has been more successful because of how it was integrated in the neighborhood and the way it was used.”

Denver’s investment in a new field for the Denver Rockies, surrounded by an aquarium and shopping complexes, led to a marked increase in new apartments, new companies, and new customers.

Despite concerns among constituents, tt was hard to find a politician in the borough who was opposed to the plan, and all three members of Bronx Democratic chief Jose Rivera’s political family dynasty were on hand for the announcement with the mayor.

“This is an exciting public-private plan for Yankee Stadium that will truly transform the south Bronx,” Rivera said in a statement. “Not only will New York get a new Yankee Stadium, but our city will get over 3,600 construction jobs, a new waterfront park, as well as many other traffic, streetscape and infrastructure improvements. This is a smart investment in the future of the Bronx that will yield hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue in coming years.”

And even City Council Member Helen Foster, who chairs the Council’s Parks Committee is optimistic.

“I have been a critic of the Yankees for years,” she said. “But in this project, they’ve done their homework. I think there’s a commitment to work with the community.”

This article originally appeared in the Highbridge Horizon.