Category Archives: TSR

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Nobody would dare seek to claim a piece of Central Park to use it for a large-scale private enterprise endeavor. It would be laughed off as impossible and greedy. But when it comes to the equivalent effort at the largest park space in Queens, it’s happening right before our eyes.

A plan to build a new soccer-specific stadium on more than a dozen acres at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park has not yet faced legally-mandated hurdles but don’t put it past the power brokers here to defy consideration of the community’s best interests. An announcement is planned in the coming weeks to unveil the affluent name and face who would own Major League Soccer’s 20th franchise and play home matches in the new building on public land. Mayor Mike is thumbs up on it and so is my state senator Jose Peralta, who has done a lot of the heavy lifting to sell the plan to the Queens residents who use the park on a regular basis.

My position on new stadium construction and associated benefits and/or problems that come with them vary by project. I strongly oppose this one. I supported the controversial new arena in Brooklyn and I backed failed efforts to build a football stadium on the west side of Manhattan and a hockey rink at the chop-shop space at Willets Point. My concerns with this project at Flushing Meadows shouldn’t be seen as inconsistent with my views on the others. Park space in this city should be untouchable. Park space at this neglected, under-appreciated park is plentiful, yes, but the soccer stadium would be situated on the best parcel of it. What makes it an even easier call for me is that we simply don’t need a soccer stadium or new pro soccer team in Queens. The MLS is hell-bent on adding a franchise here but already has a great building and great organization across the river. Why kick the Red Bulls in the shins by adding a second team to the market. The MLS push should be greater viability of the Red Bulls. This plan would kill a team that impresses every new visitor it attracts.

When it was revealed Wednesday that Senator Peralta was among a fresh batch of state lawmakers being monitored by the federal government in an ongoing criminal probe aided by the wired-up efforts of disgraced Senator Shirley Huntley, it must have sent a few shivers through the office of MLS Commissioner Don Garber and the yet-to-be named owner of the franchise hoping to occupy the new Queens stadium. (Garber gave Peralta’s borough presidency campaign $320 on 1-11-2013).

Peralta is the community and state legislature’s point man on the project and it’s possible his unusually active efforts on this is fueled by factors beyond pure affection for union construction jobs and soccer matches. It’ll be important for both the government and Peralta to show their cards promptly. Until that happens, MLS should put the brakes on the land grab if and until Peralta’s name is cleared.

Barring that, it’ll be up to the full city council to reject an idea that should be seen for what it is: a giveaway of precious city park land for a pro soccer franchise that has dubious viability and public benefit.

-When the minor-league single-A Brooklyn Cyclones open their thirteenth season on Coney Island in June, they’ll be playing on fake grass rather than the real stuff. Hurricane Sandy did significant damage to much of MCU Park’s infrastructure. During renovations to restore the ballpark into playing shape, it was decided by the Mets-owned team to replace every inch of the field’s natural sod with an artificial surface called FieldTurf. Saltwater kills grass and the Cyclones are taking the long-term view the new field can better withstand another hurricane. It’s a negative development in my view but one that perhaps makes it more likely that franchise can stay put on Coney forever?

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I think back to all the groggy Derby week mornings eating bananas, stale muffins and fake yogurt at the free breakfast offered at whatever hotel we paid through the nose to stay at – and I remember focusing on the television screen near the buffet line showing the local weather forecast. There were lots of years when we laughed at the approaching storm and comforted ourselves with the notion Churchill’s track superintendent (now retired) Butch Lehr would work his magic and make the running surfaces fair and fine.

I’m not there this year. I won’t even see it live on TV. I found out Wednesday night I’m working Saturday afternoon into night. I’ll miss the Derby party in Queens. I’ll miss Marc’s juleps. But I don’t miss the anxiety over the Louisville weather forecast which shows a cone of moisture pushing up from the south and cold air from the west threatening to soak and chill the crowd of 150-thousand that shows up for this one.

I like Orb to win the race. I like Orb in large part because I like his trainer Shug McGaughey. Unlike all but a few trainers, Shug doesn’t bring a horse to the Derby for the thrill of it. Orb can certainly win the race. He’s a big guy who can get the Derby distance and by all accounts he’s feeling good and ready. He’s listed as the program favorite in the race. You’ll get 11 or 12 dollars back on a two dollar win wager if he gets the job done. His only major knock is a tendency to get excited and distracted during the half-hour or so prior to a race. This aspect of his personality is a concern given the level of hyperactive commotion in the saddling paddock and then during the Derby parade to the gate.

The wet track shouldn’t bother him although we don’t know for sure because he’s never raced on a surface labeled anything other than “fast.” Churchill’s dirt track can become tiring when it turns to mud. My pal Marc believes smaller, compact animals like Mine That Bird (‘09’s winner) have an advantage in the muck because they can better “skip and glide” over it rather than big, long-striding horses who tend to get stuck in it.

Though that theory is sound, I haven’t moved off my Orb pick. I’ll play him to win and in an exacta box with Lines of Battle.

-With twenty horses running in the Derby, those reporting on the event have had plenty of storylines to explore. The mainstream media’s best moment in the run-up to the race came during the 60 Minutes profile of jockey Rosie Napravnik. The piece aired last Sunday night. Rosie’s struggle to gain success as one of the sport’s few female jockeys is a great story. Her wit is sharp and her love of the game is well articulated. The best part of the segment came when narrator Bob Simon asked Rosie about her ability to communicate with the horses she rides. This part of the interview appeared to have been shot in Rosie’s home. She told Simon she uses various types of noises to convey certain types of instructions. One such noise is a smooching sound, which Rosie says prompts the animal to “spurt forward.” When Simon asked Rosie to simulate this noise, she had a hilarious deadpan response. “I’m not gonna make the noise on 60 Minutes. I have limits.”

-The Times was the only major daily newspaper that failed to send a reporter to Pittsburgh to cover the first Islanders playoff game in six years. That decision is consistent with the Grey Lady sports department’s questionable policy of ignoring a hockey team on the brink of moving to Brooklyn. Thursday’s Times print edition carried a few paragraphs of AP wire copy of the Isles’ game one loss to the Pens while dedicating a full-length feature on the same page to the backup goalie for the Minnesota Wild.