Waitstaff at the Yankee Stadium’s exclusive box seats are suing the New York Yankees concession management for tips they believe they are owed, the New York Post reports.
The suit was filed at the Bronx Supreme Court and claims management formerly applied a 20 percent mandatory service charge to each patron’s bill but that tip didn’t go to service workers.The policy allegedly earned the company between $500,000 and $1 million in gratuity and thirty-two current and former workers are seeking compensation.
Brian Cashman not expected to leave Yankees for Red Sox after Theo Epstein’s departure to run Cubs, the New York Daily News reports.
Asked Wednesday whether Epstein’s decision to leave the Red Sox for the Cubs would influence his own situation, Cashman said it would not.
Cashman’s contract expires at the end of the month, and while he and the Yankees have not started discussing a new deal, he’s expected to return to the position he has held since 1998.
On October 30, 2001, the Yankees played the Diamondbacks in Game 3 of the World Series. The Boston Herald recaps how, as President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch, everyone was considered a potential terrorist – even George Steinbrenner and Joe Torre.
Bronx has 4 of NYC’s most ‘dangerous’ schools
The New York State Education Department posted a list “persistently dangerous” schools on its website last week. The New York Post reports that of the nine New York City schools on the list for 2011-12, four are in the Bronx – Aspire, Soundview Academy for Culture and Scholarship, PS 11 Highbridge, and IS 190. The Post says that Aspire Prep’s 554 students tallied 88 “violent and disruptive” incidents in 2009-10. These included sex crimes, robbery and assaults.
Bronxites help farm devastated by Irene
Two busloads of Bronx families traveled to Schoharie in upstate New York on Saturday with emergency supplies for a farm devastated by the remnants of Hurricane Irene, says an Associated Press report in the Wall Street Journal. These families from the South Bronx were just a few among the 1,000 and more that Richard Ball’s farm has been feeding since 2009.
Three food vendors at Yankee Stadium filed suit yesterday against the Bronx Bombers’ food service company, Legends, claiming they did not receive their tips, according to the NY Post. A Legends spokeswoman denies any wrongdoing. The Yankees’ former vending company, Centerplate, is also a defendant in the case. (NY Post)
Tuesday evening was shaping up to be just another night at the ballpark for Brian Kownacki, Fordham University’s 20-year-old shortstop. Fordham, limping into its match against Iona College with a 12-22 record, trailed 9-3 at the bottom of the eighth inning, but a miraculous turn of events saw the Rams win 12-9 and Kownacki transformed into an overnight Internet phenomenon.
“I was just thinking about scoring a run,” Kownacki said. “It was a one-time thing. I’d never thought about it until I got to five feet away from the catcher.”
Kownacki, blocked from home plate by Iona catcher James Beck, improvised by leaping over the head of his befuddled opponent to score the game’s final run — a play that was caught on video by school officials and quickly spread worldwide.
“I knew the sports information director had sent it to ESPN. I thought it might get into the top plays,” said Kownacki, a native of Woodbridge, Conn., who is in his sophomore year of a business administration degree. “I woke up to 20 missed phone calls saying I had interviews on ESPN and that it had made No. 1.”
Kownacki’s life has since been turned upside down by a barrage of media requests. “It’s all a big blur right now,” he said this afternoon before boarding the team’s bus ahead of a flight to Ohio. “I’ve done 11 or 12 interviews. It’s really fun.” CBS’s “Early Show” awaits his arrival in Dayton, where the Rams play a three-game series this weekend.
Tuesday wasn’t the first time that Kownacki’s acrobatics have gained notice — he was featured in a Sports Illustrated photo spread earlier this year. But his latest dazzling maneuver has pushed unheralded Fordham firmly into the spotlight. Diana Mackie, a communications student who works part time in the sports office, said the school deserves the attention. “We have excellent sports programs here, and it’s about time we were recognized,” she said.
Mark Stevens, the team’s hitting coach, said he is surprised by the reaction but delighted by the exposure that Kownacki and the program are receiving. “It was an amazing play. He’s a very athletic kid,” Stevens said. “I think he needs an agent.”
The resulting media circus could be a distraction for the team, but Head Coach Nick Restaino is confident that his shortstop will not be affected. “Brian is the last guy that’s ever going to look for attention,” Restaino said. “He’s very grounded. I think he’ll handle it well.”
Restaino admitted that he had never seen anything like Kownacki’s leap in 18 years of coaching, but his reaction was straight out of the coaching manual. “He did a great job getting the run scored and that’s what really matters,” he said.
Any lingering thoughts that Kownacki might get carried away were quickly deflated by a sobering reaction from his family. “I talked to my parents,” Kownacki said. “They said it was a very nice play, but very dangerous and I shouldn’t try it again.”
Cleo Robertson is 75 years old and regularly attends a speech therapy class at Lehman College in the Bronx. But on Tuesday afternoon, Robertson decided to skip class.
She carefully took her copy of the book “101 Reasons to Love the Yankees” out of her black walker and began slowly flicking through it until she stopped at a page and smiled.
“I like him,” Robertson said in a high-pitched shaky voice, pointing to a picture of Derek Jeter, who is captain of the Yankees baseball team and less than half of her age.
Cleo Robertson touching the World Series trophy for the first time in her life. Photo by: Eno Alfred
The book’s cover was in perfect condition and the pages barely showed any sign that they were turned daily by Robertson’s frail hands.
Robertson made her way to the back of her college music hall, with her eyes fixed on the World Series trophy that sparkled with the continuous flashing from the cameras and cell phones of more than 20 people who gathered to catch a glimpse of the trophy, which was on display for fans at the Bronx campus.
The trophy was received with glee by die-hard fans like Robertson, who had seen the New York Yankees win the 2009 World Series last November on television but wanted to have the opportunity to see the spoils of victory in person.
“I like it,” said Robertson, who struggled to say much more because of a speech impairment.
Her once-in-a-lifetime experience came about by accident when someone in passing told her caregiver where everyone was rushing to that afternoon.
As a steady crowed poured in and out of the room over the hour, quickening their pace when the trophy was in sight, Robertson’s smile remained as wide as when she first arrived.
“No touching the trophy please, we don’t want it to get stained,” said the white gloved security manager, moments before Robertson disobeyed his commands.
She placed her fingertips over one of the 30 gold plated flags that represented all of the teams in Major League Baseball. Her woolly black hat barely stood higher than the 20-pound, 2-foot-tall trophy designed by Tiffany & Co.
Robertson struck a pose as scores of people took pictures. She left without a sense of urgency to catch the rest of her class.
