Bronx businesses celebrate comeback victory over Nike
Stan The Man’s Baseball Land, closed for the season, on River Avenue.
(File)
riety, Home Plate, Pinstripe
Collectibles, Sammy’s, S & A
Sports, Stadium Souvenirs
and Stan’s Sports World were
all at risk of closing down for
good per the exclusive deal,
but thanks to the new deal,
they’re safe.
“The South Bronx is our
home, and we take pride in being
a productive member of
our community,” the Yankees
statement also noted.
After amNewYork broke
this news on Oct. 31, stakeholders
stepped up to the
plate for the small businesses,
starting with the New York
Yankees front offi ce bosses
themselves.
TAKE ON EVERYTHING
NEW YORK CITY
HAS TO OFFER TODAY
BY ALEX MITCHELL
AMNEWYORK REPORTER
Nike has agreed to keep
eight small Bronx businesses
in the Yankee merchandising
game, according to Councilwoman
Vanessa Gibson and
the 161st Street Business Improvement
District.
The agreement comes after
the ‘mom & pop’ shops were in
jeopardy of losing the rights to
sell Yankees memorabilia as
part of an arranged deal between
Nike and Major League
Baseball that would only authorize
the selling of licensed
apparel at ‘premium distribution
points.’
“Constructive dialogue
that was initiated by our local
council members and partners
in the business improvement
district led us to urge
Nike and Major League Baseball
to work together on a solution
that recognized the needs
of those who live in the neighborhood
surrounding Yankee
Stadium,” the bombers public
relations department said
through a statement on Friday,
November 15.
Longtime standing River
Avenue Yankee retail spots,
Ballpark Sports, D & J Va-
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, N 38 OVEMBER 17-28, 2019 BTR
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The Yankees reached out
to the 161st Street BID for a list
of the endangered stores and
even wrote to Nike, expressing
the organization’s deep
concerns with the deal.
“The magnitude of the
problem is extreme,” Yankees
COO Lonn Trost wrote to the
MLB upon learning those
stores would be scratched
from the lineup.
Gibson was also instrumental
in leveraging a compromise
with Nike, sources
say.
“Given their longevity,
community commitment, and
economic vitality, we strongly
believe these stores to be in
fact, premium distribution locations,”
Gibson previously
wrote in a letter to Nike, which
also noted that the small businesses
shell out roughly $1
million in licensed apparel
annually.
The NYC Small Business
Services and 161st Street BID
director Cary Goodman also
went to bat for the Bronx’s
beloved Yankee memorabilia
shops.
While commending the
Yankees, Gibson and Goodman’s
efforts, Borough President
Ruben Diaz, Jr. also
cheered on the victory in his
borough.
“If you want to do business
in the Bronx, you have to do
business with the Bronx. This
agreement helps Nike, Major
League Baseball and the New
York Yankees do just that,” he
said.
/nyc