Representatives from New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) provided a recap to Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) residents on the latest discussions around the future use of the Kingsbridge Armory during the Bronx CB7 general board meeting held Feb. 22, following EDC’s presentation to the board’s land use committee on Feb. 14. It included an overview of the latest envisioning workshops, meetings held by the “Together for Kingsbridge” working group/steering committee, as well as previous updates on the project.

 

“On Feb. 28, we’ll be doing a focus group with faith-based institutions across the Bronx, and then we will be leading a community tour of the Brooklyn army terminal, which is an example down in Brooklyn, a space that’s been redeveloped to support manufacturing,” an EDC representative said in part during the Feb. 22 board meeting. He added that the focus group would also be talking to Bronx Community Board 8 Economic Development Committee and meeting with some students from the Bronx Academy for Software Engineering.

 

As previously reported, the City-owned, 5-acre, cavernous, prior military facility is located in Kingsbridge Heights and was built in 1917. It is a protected historical building, and its history is long-documented. Over the years, as reported, it has been used for everything from film shoots to emergency storage, as well as for logistical purposes, such as during Hurricane Sandy and the COVID-19 pandemic. For the most part, however, it has been left languishing, looming large over its underserved surrounding community in one of the City’s lowest-income areas.

 

According to the latest available district profile for Bronx Community District 7 (CD7), which encompasses the neighborhoods of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham, University Heights and Kingsbridge Heights, in which the armory is located, based on the 2010 census, there are 72,836 residents per square mile, compared to neighboring Bronx Community District 8 (CD8) to the northwest, where there are 30,803 per square mile.

Bronx Community District 8 (CD8) encompasses some or all of the neighborhoods of Riverdale, Fieldston, Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, Marble Hill, Spuyten Duyvil, and Van Cortlandt Village.

 

In terms of the rent burden relative to income, this is 53.8 percent in CD7, higher than the City and Bronx averages at 44.2 and 50.9 percent respectively. There’s also the question of how the armory can serve the community in terms of job growth. Pre-pandemic unemployment in CD7 stood at 7.2 percent, compared to 5 percent in CD8. Meanwhile, 30.8 percent of residents in CD7 have incomes below the City poverty threshold while that percentage is 18.6 percent in CD8.

 

Following the various discussions held with the community to date, the Armory’s priority uses have been broken down into six main categories. These include recreation & entertainment, community gathering & organizing, cultural engagement & attractions, local and small business use, training & education, and health & fitness.

 

The “Together for Kingsbridge / Juntos Para Kingsbridge” working group or steering committee comprises elected officials, including, among others, District 14 City Council Member Pierina Sanchez and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, members of Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, and EDC representatives. They have been asking the public to submit their ideas of what they would like to see in place in the Armory for several months now, ever since the controversial Kingsbridge National Ice Center project was abandoned, as previously reported.

In terms of the community’s core strengths and assets to see the project through, these include its people, its creativity, its diversity & culture, its long and rich history, its green spaces, and its local organizing power. The aim of the project is to align the building’s use with the values of its surrounding community, and local nonprofit, Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, have been front and center in this regard.

 

These documented values are uplifting local entrepreneurs and workers, prioritizing youth, welcoming the older adult community, fostering intergenerational relationships, putting The Bronx on the map, and maximizing community ownership and wealth generation.

 

As of Feb. 14, according to the recap by EDC, with the project entering Phase 4 [Trade-offs for the Armory], community engagement to date has comprised 8 hours of workshop time, 400+ workshop participants, 10+ focus groups, 250+ completed worksheets filled with ideas for the Armory’s future use, and 4 community working group meetings.

 

Some of the health & fitness ideas which emerged from the various workshops included an Olympic size swimming pool, and indoor track, a gym, a biking track, a spa, sauna, steam rooms, physical health services, mental health services, physical movement studios, martial arts, yoga and meditation, and open air spaces.

 

Under training and education, among others, some of the ideas generated to date include a hands-on tech training space, a multi-purpose, skill-sharing space, including tutoring and study rooms, lecture halls, collaboration spaces, open study spaces, computer labs, and studios with shared equipment.

In terms of demographics, there is an estimated 169,400 people (52.4 percent female) living in CD7, 44 percent of whom are foreign-born, which means language needs are a top priority. This compares to 33.3 percent of foreign born residents in Bronx CD8.

 

Meanwhile, 25.9 percent of residents are under the age of 18 in CD7, higher than the citywide and Bronx averages of 20.9 and 25.1 respectively. In Bronx CD8, that figure is 20.6 percent. Also, just 9.6 percent of residents in CD7 are over the age of 65, compared to 19.7 percent in CD8.

 

Meanwhile, when it comes to education, just 17 percent of residents aged 25 and over in CD7 have earned a Bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to Bronx CD8, where 40.9 percent of residents have done so.

 

In terms of crime, there were 1,900 major felonies reported in CD7 in 2019, compared to 961 in adjacent CD8. Getting people into meaningful and fulfilling employment and having a community space in which residents can safely convene is therefore a priority. In terms of using the armory as a hub for small businesses, some of the target business ideas and uses for the armory include trade & construction, sustainable food and agriculture, green economies, arts, multi-purpose spaces for events and large conventions, and presentation rooms.

Meanwhile, under recreation and entertainment, some of the target ideas to date include the creation of food halls, a farmer’s market, restaurants and rooftop cafes, a community kitchen, a Trader Joe’s, a space for cooking classes, a dedicated space for games, and a movie theater.

 

Currently, there are an estimated 176 institutions devoted to education, child welfare and youth in CD7, compared to 191 in CD8. In terms of libraries and cultural programs, there are 15 in CD7, compared to 13 in CD8. 

 

Under the community gathering and organizing category, some ideas included having a space for community fairs and celebrations, adult daycare centers, a community and organizing space, childcare facilities, book clubs, talks on history and storytelling, having a safe space to hang, reading spaces, spaces for rooftop events, a space for occasions and celebrations, a lounge and breakroom and greenspaces.

 

Meanwhile, under cultural engagement, ideas included a museum telling the history of the armory and of the people of the Bronx, a history of Bronx arts, a museum store, video and interactive exhibits, guided tours of the armory, art spaces for local artists, a community mural, shows and event space, music, dance, art and craft studios, spaces for outdoor classes, concert venues, an amphitheater, an indoor and outdoor space for performing arts, spaces for live art, music and dance.

During the Bronx CB7 Feb. 22 meeting, Parks’ Chair Barbara Stronzcer asked if more than one developer was envisaged for the project given the number of different ideas that were circulating on the use of the armory, and given it was reported by government officials that the previous developer fell through due to financial reasons, though the developer in question, KNIC Development, disputes this assertion, as reported, and has challenged this in court.

 

The EDC representative replied, saying, in part, “We want to maintain flexibility and creativity, so we don’t want to limit it to just one developer. However, we are open to one developer coming in with a great idea that can be financed, but just based on these conversations, we’re exploring different options on which we can RFP [Request for Proposal] the site. So, whether it’s one developer, multiple developers, those answers will become more clear as we reach the end of this envisioning process and really have a cohesive vision and set of goals, and then determining the best way, the best approach, to achieving those goals, whether it’s trying to attract one developer or being able to bring in multiple developers and basically condo out the armory.”

 

Sirio Guerino from Guerinos against Graffitti*, also a Bronx CB7 member, asked if the discussions on the Armory that were taking place with the local Merchants Association and other local community groups like Theory 9 and Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence (B.R.A.G.) were open to the public.

The EDC representative said, “These are intended to be closed discussions, specifically with merchants along the Kingsbridge Road, so we’ve been holding a series of smaller group discussions with different stakeholders. So, small businesses have held one with the universities and colleges, healthcare institutions, so really digging deep into some of the more specific stakeholders that operate in and around Kingsbridge.”

 

As reported, envisioning workshops took place on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, and again on Saturday, Jan. 21. However, the “Together for Kingsbridge” working group is still anxious to hear from more community members about their ideas.

 

The EDC spokesperson shared with residents that Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) would be holding a town hall at Our Lady of Angels Church in Kingsbridge Heights on Feb. 26 to encourage more participation in the project by community members.

On Feb. 22, Bronx CB7 member, Sandra Erickson, asked what sources of revenue were envisaged for the Armory. The EDC representative replied, in part, saying, “I think that’s really a consensus point of view, that the space is big enough to hold [different] community spaces, but there has to be the anchor tenant that generates revenue to keep the space operating, and just based on some of the things that we presented, ideas like an event space and concert venue, for instance, can be that space that wants to be used by the community but can also generate revenue through shows and such.”

 

He added, “You would then have someone who can maintain the armory overall. We’ve heard ideas around film and TV studios. So, there is a growing market for film and TV studios within New York City, so looking at the armory for potential around that, and then gaming is something else that’s come up, and tech as well.”

 

The EDC representative went on to say that the steering committee has also been having conversations with specific industries to understand what their needs are, and whether the armory could be a good fit for certain industry types which might enable one company or entity to come in as an “anchor tenant.” He added, “So yeah, definitely I think it’s an overall consensus that there needs to be a revenue generator within the armory.”

 

The third and final envisioning workshop will be held on March 18 at noon at Lehman College, before the working group puts together a final document which will outline the broad plan and next steps, including an RFP (Request for Proposal) to be issued to prospective developers to come up with economically viable projects that meet the community’s needs.