09/24/2026
Macombs Dam Park, a community park that rests in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, one of the richest sports franchises in the world, is deteriorating due to a decade of city neglect, a major fire and a debate over the broken promises of public funding.
Built directly on the footprint of the old Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, the park opened in 2010 as part of a deal to replace the loss of public parkland when the new stadium was built across the street. Yet, over the past decade, it has degraded into what local leaders call a symbol of “broken promises” to the South Bronx community.
Durga Sreenivasan, a New York-born community organizer and social media activist, raised awareness to this issue on Instagram. She highlighted the hazardous track, turf and bleacher fire at Macombs Dam Park in April 2026.
“This park specifically was just falling apart. I saw the field right after there was a huge fire. No one knows why the fire was started, which is very odd given there’s cameras everywhere, which ruined sports equipment for youth teams. The field itself has huge holes in them. It’s such a juxtaposition with Yankee Stadium standing in the background,” Sreenivasan said.
Local residents say they are disheartened by the state of the park and are not able to comfortably play or exercise at Macomb’s park because it’s falling apart.
New York City Council member Althea Stevens, who serves over Congressional District 16, including the area around Yankee Stadium and Macombs Dam Park, told the Bronx Times that one of the top concerns from residents is the park.
“The track is literally falling apart. There’s patches missing. The gravel is very thin. The usage and maintenance have not been able to keep up,” Stevens said. “We have a beautiful field, Yankee Stadium, which was built around the same time as Macombs but that stadium is still up and running yet the park is not.”.
📝By LaMont Jackson
🎥: Edited by Matthew Etienne
📰Read more at BXTimes.com
