The Kingsbridge Armory Task Force is set to meet on April 24. What will the topic of discussion be? Depends on who you ask.
The task force, which includes representatives of the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC), local elected officials, Community Board 7 and the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA), was set up to provide community input on the redevelopment of the Armory, which the Related Companies plans to turn into a shopping mall.
Both the community board and KARA say they want to talk about negotiating a binding community benefits agreement (CBA) with Related that could include local hiring provisions, living wage guarantees, options to unionize and more community space for youth and seniors.
The EDC, which set up the task force, says the only topic of discussion will be community space.
Related could not be reached by press time. In the past, Related has said the task force would be the arena where a benefits agreement would get hammered out, but has been reluctant to talk about the parameters of such an agreement.
A representative for KARA said any talks with Related are good, but the organization wanted to make sure more community space wouldn’t be a substitute for the other benefits they’re asking for.