EyeQ Tech review EyeQ Tech EyeQ Tech tuyển dụng review công ty eyeq tech eyeq tech giờ ra sao EyeQ Tech review EyeQ Tech EyeQ Tech tuyển dụng crab meat crab meat crab meat importing crabs live crabs export mud crabs vietnamese crab exporter vietnamese crabs vietnamese seafood vietnamese seafood export vietnams crab vietnams crab vietnams export vietnams export
Metro

Mets forcing vendors to walk extra mile by closing Citi Field staff parking lot during 2022 playoffs

By
Mark Lungariello and
Phil Mushnick
Published Oct. 6, 2022
Updated Oct. 6, 2022, 10:03 p.m. ET

Some Citi Field workers will be going the extra mile — literally — to get Mets fans their hot dogs and beer this postseason.

The hardworking vendors beginning today will have to schlep to the Queens stadium via public transportation or by foot — because their usual staff parking lot will be off-limits as the Amazin’s make their first postseason run since 2016.

The move has left the workers, including food vendors and security staff, fuming and even threatening to stay home on game days, sources told The Post Thursday.

In lieu of their access to Lot A, the Mets are offering free parking for credentialed staff across the Flushing Creek from Citi Field at the Skyview Center Mall, where workers can either hop a shuttle or walk 10 to 15 minutes along Roosevelt Avenue before checking in.

“We are urging all game-day staff to take mass transit or alternatively leave more time than usual to arrive to the area of Citi Field due to these obstacles to avoid arriving late,” read a letter to staff obtained by The Post.

The Citi Field lot used by vendors and other workers will be closed for the 2022 playoffs.
The Citi Field lot used by vendors and other workers will be closed for the 2022 playoffs. MLB via Getty Images

The shuttle will run between the mall and the former McFadden’s bar at Citi Field for six hours before the game and two hours after the last out, employees were told.

But they were advised that walking “may be faster” after the game than taking the shuttle back to Skyview — with traffic in the Flushing area notorious for game-day gridlock, the letter stated.

“The Roosevelt Ave. pedestrian bridge will be well-lit and secured by either NYPD or Security staff members for the staff’s safety,” the Mets’ letter insisted.

The usual lot for Citi Field workers will be used for additional broadcasting and media space during the Mets' playoff run.
The usual lot for Citi Field workers will be used for additional broadcasting and media space during the Mets’ playoff run. Getty Images

In past years, Lot A remained at least partially open when Citi Field hosted playoffs and the All-Star Game, sources said — though it was apparently closed for some time during the 2015 World Series, when the Mets lost to the Kansas City Royals.

The lot will be closed this time around not to become premium parking, but to help accommodate the crush of media, sources said.

In normal times, workers who use it can generally park in one of several hundred spaces for free or pay a discounted rate instead of the $30 it costs fans during the season, sources said. Different teams have different policies and some teams, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, offer off-site worker parking and shuttles to accommodate large crowds, according to sources.

The Amazin’s are set to start a three-game series against the San Diego Padres on Friday in the Wild Card round of a revamped playoff format. New York finished the regular season second in the National League East behind rival the Atlanta Braves.

There are three additional rounds in the playoffs, including the World Series, if the Mets make it past San Diego. If they do, Lot A would be closed for every home game.

This year is the first time the Mets have made the playoffs since 2016 – and the first time they’ve gone to the postseason since billionaire Steve Cohen bought the franchise in a $2.4 billion deal in 2020.