A full year after the city promised to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to develop the Kingsbridge Armory, officials say they cannot predict when that will happen. In order to bid out the decade-long development project, the city needs to gain full control of the East 195th Street annex to the rear of the Armory, which still houses two National Guard units. 

"We are talking to the military, but we have nothing to report at this time," said Janel Paterson, spokesperson for the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC), which oversees the Armory’s redevelopment. 

EDC says it began talks with the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs last June to find a substitute space for the 50,000-square-foot annex. Roughly 300 Guard members use the building, located between Jerome and Reservoir avenues, for drill practice, mechanical work, and youth programming. 

While the state was initially reluctant to consider the idea, they expressed more openness this summer. "We are looking to EDC to provide alternative [locations] to look at," said Scott Sandman, a Military and Naval Affairs spokesperson, in July. 

Paterson would not comment on whether or not EDC had assembled a list of potential sites. After a lively hearing last May that heartened local Armory advocates, the Armory seems to have fallen off EDC’s priority list. When asked about the project’s status, Paterson said, "Frankly, I only get updates when you call."

But activists and officials are waiting for EDC to identify a site. Assemblyman Jose Rivera recently met with members of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition to discuss the situation.

"Rivera has been instrumental in trying to get EDC to meet with Division of Military and Naval Affairs," said Ronn Jordan, the Coalition’s president and a Norwood resident.

According to Jordan, Rivera is looking to Stanley Schlein, the Bronx Democratic 
organization’s connected lawyer, to move things forward.

Two weeks ago, Council Member Joel Rivera unofficially met with the Guard units with Council Member Maria Baez, whose district includes the Armory, to assess their needs. "We were going over logistical stuff," Rivera said.

The Coalition has its own proposal to redevelop the Armory, which Rivera and other Bronx Democrats favor. The design includes schools, which must be built on the site of the annex, along with retail and community components.

The Coalition and its developer partner, The Richman Group, have compiled a list of seven possible sites for the Guard, and members are continuing to identify more. Officials are also considering unoccupied city- or state-owned land to build a new facility, according to Rivera.

While Rivera said that the negotiations still lack a time line, Coalition members are doing their best to keep the Armory on the front burner.

"In the next three to six months, we will be forcing the issue," Jordan said.