With a Jan. 18 deadline fast approaching for receipt of applications by the City of New York to a Request for Proposal (RFP) to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory in Kingsbridge Heights, supporters of 12 local small businesses located along nearby Jerome Avenue and East Kingsbridge Road held a rally on Thursday, Dec. 7, calling on the merchants’ landlord to renew the merchants’ leases, rather than sell to the soon-to-be selected developer or associate partner.

 

The impacted buildings include 2-12 West Kingsbridge Road and 2647-2659 Jerome Avenue, and some of the affected small businesses include the Double Dragon Chinese Restaurant, Pace Copy Center, Lucy’s Flower Shop, and the popular New Capital Restaurant.

 

Juan Nuñez of Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) provided some context behind the rally and press conference, saying that a lot of commercial landlords in the area started offering month-to-month leases, or no leases at all, after a Community Benefits Agreement, partially negotiated by NWBCCC, in respect of a prior, now-abandoned Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment project [the Kingsbridge National Ice Center] was signed in 2013.

Members of NWBCCC were joined at the rally by Dominicanos USA, the Street Vendor Project, the Association for Neighborhood Housing Development, and the Kingsbridge Road Merchants Association at the corner of Jerome Avenue and East Kingsbridge Road. The groups also also called on local officials to pass new legislation that would protect those affected, as well as other similar small businesses.

 

The group was also joined on the day by a handful of the affected business owners, as well as Democrats, Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, Assemblyman George Alvarez (A.D.78), City Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14) and State Sen. Robert Jackson (S.D. 31), all of whom spoke of that very need to pass legislation to protect small business owners.

 

Sanchez said, “To the owners of this property who are putting forth a sale that would drive out all of these businesses that are part of the fabric of our community, we say, ‘No!’ We say, ‘Shame on you!’”

 

For her part, Gibson said, “My message is that The Bronx is open for business with regards to working with public and private partners that want to invest in the borough, and I realize owners, landlords all want to make revenue. I understand, but I want them to see the value of the people and the services that are here. How we address this is through commercial rent stabilization, making sure that safeguards are in place.”

 

Attempts by Norwood News to reach the property owner, Marcus & Millichap, of Madison Avenue and property manager, Henri Kessler, were unsuccessful.

One woman who declined to be identified who was coming out of the New Capital Restaurant on the day of the rally said she had been visiting the popular eatery since 1978. When informed the restaurant didn’t have a lease renewal and could close, she replied, “Really? I didn’t know that!” The woman was directed to the new ‘For Sale’ sign above the restaurant’s doors. She gasped and said, “Oh wow!”

 

For more information on the RFP, visit https://edc.nyc/kingsbridge-armory-redevelopment-rfp.

 

To read a recent op-ed on the Kingsbridge Armory, click here.