Adi Talwar
Running Back Kyron Coles of the New York Lions with the ball during a playoff game against the Bayside Raiders at the Raiders home field in Flushing Queens. The Lions lost the game 24-16. This youth football game was for 15- to 17-year-old boys.
A study finding that tackle football before age 12 creates life-long health risk doesn’t appear to be generating much soul-searching by private youth teams. And the public school system, whose players are only slightly older, won’t say whether it’s thinking of changes.
The city’s rezoning proposal is just one of the plans on the table.
Leagues from the northwest Bronx to Brooklyn and Staten Island report fielding 50 to 70 percent fewer players this year as other sports, longer school days, rising fees and other factors squeeze the game.
The city has proposed new rules to protect the long-term affordability of Housing Development Fund Corporations (HDFCs), but some shareholders say the rules would rob them of well-deserved equity.