NEW YORK, NY January 07, 2009 —Mayor Bloomberg says he won't use the luxury box the city will get free of charge when the new Yankee Stadium opens in April. The move comes after embarrassing e-mails surfaced showing how hard his aides lobbied for the perk. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has more.

REPORTER: Bettina Damiami of Good Jobs New York, a critic of the stadium, says Bloomberg's reversal obscures the real issue: whether to grant the Yankees another $370 million in tax-free bonds.

DAMIANI: If the Bloomberg administration thinks that rescinding its luxury boxes is going to soften the blow of the incredible subsidies going to this project, I think they are sorely mistaken.

REPORTER: Already, the city has spent $310 million on infrastructure improvements to help out the Yankees, more than twice what was originally budgeted. But the Bloomberg administration says the project is still worth the extra investment. A spokesman says the restaurants in the new stadium will bring in more sales and income taxes than previously expected because they'll be open year-round. For WNYC, I'm Matthew Schuerman.

HOST: The city's Industrial Development Agency will vote on the bonds for the Yankees next week.