Like many other boys growing up in the Bronx, Joe Byrne dreamed of someday earning his paycheck by performing in a starring role at Yankee Stadium. Today, Byrne is the toast of his Throgs Neck neighborhood for making his dream a reality. He works as a project executive for Turner Construction Co., the lead contractor for the Yankees’ new ballpark, under construction across from the existing stadium in the South Bronx.
During the past decade, Byrne worked on two of Manhattan’s signature proj-ects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s Bear Stearns headquarters and Foster + Partners’ Hearst Tower. But for diehard Yankee fan Byrne, the job at River Avenue and 161st Street tops them both. “In terms of size and public image, this will be the most talked about job in my career,” he says.