With proposals for the Kingsbridge Armory on the verge of being vetted behind closed doors, more than 200 local activists made it clear that any developer chosen by the city will have to deal with and provide benefits to the community.

At a lively rally near the Armory’s front entrance on Kingsbridge Road on Wednesday, March 21, the day before the deadline for developers’ submissions, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA), a group that includes the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, staged a candlelight vigil preceded by songs, chants, fiery speeches and spoken word.

“Whose Armory?” they chanted at various times during the rally, “Our Armory!”

“This Armory must build the wealth of our local residents and not big businesses,” said Reverend English Que from Bronx Christian Fellowship Church in one of the most animated speeches at the rally.

She added, “To the powers that be, we say, ‘if you don’t do right by our people, you can’t have our Armory.”

In addition to demanding their voice be heard in the development process, the rally served as a platform for KARA, which also includes dozens of clergy and church groups as well as the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), to outline a list of community benefits that they believe should be part of any winning Armory proposal.

The list includes “wall-to-wall” living wage jobs ($10 an hour, plus benefits, or $11.50 without benefits), a new school to relieve overcrowding, dedicated community space for arts programs and events, priority access for Bronxites, job training programs and “green” development practices.

They also talked about what they don’t want: big box retail such as a Walmart or other businesses that would compete with existing local merchants.

Several development groups have expressed interest in taking over the Armory during the past year, including two that have openly lobbied for the site in front of local elected officials and Community Board 7, which includes the Armory.

The group considered the front-runner is billing itself as the Kingsbridge National Ice Center and is made up of a several private investors, including ex-New York Rangers star Mark Messier and figure skater Sarah Hughes.

The group, which met with Board 7 members last month, says it will not need public subsidies to complete their Armory project, which will include a 5,000-seat arena and seven or eight additional skating rinks.

Councilman Fernando Cabrera, whose district includes the Armory, has said the project could become “the Yankee Stadium of the ice world.”

The other group being vocal about its interest in the Armory is a partnership between the National Cycling Association and the New York Gauchos youth basketball program calling itself The Armory Sports and Entertainment.

Their plan would be built around a velodrome for bike racing and includes a 5,000-seat sports arena, professional basketball courts, rock climbing walls, a skate park, a “hostel-style” hotel for visiting sports teams, a sports medicine clinic and a wellness center.

It’s unclear exactly how the group would finance the project, but it would most likely include some type of public assistance.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), a quasi-government agency, is vetting proposals for the city, which owns the Armory. A spokesperson for the EDC said they have no plans to release information about submissions.

Just as it did four years ago when a previous request for proposals was issued, the EDC is expected to narrow the list to two or three finalists and then publically review them with community input.

In late 2009, the City Council killed the winning proposal by Related Companies that would have turned the Armory into a retail mall. Although local elected officials like Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and community groups like KARA have expressed their opposition to another retail mall proposal, Vornado Realty Trust, which operates 134 shopping centers nationwide, is expected to submit a proposal that would be based around retail.

Editor’s note: A version of this story appears in the April 5-18 print edition of the Norwood News.

admin

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.