Norwood News

In a sharp break from his predecessor’s lenient approach to development in the borough, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz has applied the brakes to a city-backed proposal to turn the Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping mall.

Diaz, who issued what is technically a negative recommendation to the City Planning Commission, said he couldn’t approve the project without a Community Benefits Agreement in place.

“While I cannot offer my approval to this proposal at this time,” Diaz said in a statement, “I am hopeful that the developer will continue negotiations with my office and the community stakeholders to craft a strong community benefits agreement that allows both the developer and our neighbors to prosper from this project.”

Diaz said he submitted a draft of an agreement to the developer, The Related Companies, which included provisions for a living wage, development of a community facility, and various labor protection measures, as well as the exclusion of a big-box supermarket, which he and local leaders worry will crush Morton Williams, a family-owned supermarket across the street from the Armory.

Also cited in his recommendation were traffic concerns and the lack of a study of the impact on local businesses.
The Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA), an umbrella group of community organizations, unions and local institutions, hailed Diaz’s decision.

“We will not allow our Armory to be used solely as a profit center for Related,” said KARA leader Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter in a statement. “This is a public project and its development must improve the lives of working people in the community.”

KARA has been adamant that Related consent to requiring Armory retailers to pay employees a living wage, defined as $10 an hour with benefits.

Related has balked at that restriction. The living wage provision and other CBA principles “would render this project completely unbuildable and unfinanceable for Related or any other developer,” the company said in a statement.

The City Planning Commission, which has a majority of mayoral appointees, was scheduled to vote on the proposal on Sept. 9. Then the proposal will head to the City Council, which will likely have the final say and will probably follow the lead of Bronx Council members, particularly Maria Baez and Oliver Koppell.

Community Board 7 voted in favor of Related’s proposal, but on condition that Related address many of the issues Diaz cited in his recommendation.