Maybe it’s a Bronx thing or an “other boroughs” thing. Apparently up here the city doesn’t announce the advancement of huge neighborhood-changing development projects. They just sort of leak them and rumor them and move forward without saying much.

We’re talking, of course, about the Kingsbridge Armory, the massive vacant building slated to be renovated sometime in the near future. Community Board 7 Chair Greg Faulkner has said publicly, at a general board meeting, that The Related Companies, whose principal is pals and former business partners with former deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff, has been awarded the contract to revamp the Armory. The Daily News reported the same story using anonymous sources three weeks ago. The city Economic Development Corporation is not denying it, but they’re not admitting it either.

How sad. The biggest project to hit the northwest Bronx in generations is limping past a major milestone as if it doesn’t really matter. This situation only reinforces the century-old public impression that the city administration, regardless of who is mayor, only really cares about Manhattan.

Fortunately, we are a community that has found its voice and struggled mightily for this project and is now gearing up for face-to-face negotiations with the developer.

The Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA), founded by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, should rightly claim victory after working on this for years and forging a coalition of elected officials, unions and community leaders, to demand a project that includes benefits for the community, such as good paying jobs, strong local labor participation, more community space and, of course, schools. Now KARA wants to be the one community voice and the one negotiating body to try to make sure their demands are met.

At the same time, Community Board 7 is set up, according to the city charter, to be the place where the community has its say. CB7’s Faulkner hasn’t signed on to KARA’s principles or process because he doesn’t want to lose the board’s bargaining power.

To its credit, the board has undergone a noticeable transition over the past couple of years. It’s growing in numbers and strength. Its members are actively engaged in the community. And new district manager and Bedford Park resident Fernando Tirado has strengthened the board’s outreach and openness. But it would be unwise to go it alone on a project of this scale.

Given the teeth pulling required to get this thing off the ground, we sincerely hope the community board and KARA can combine forces to form one giant megaphone of a community voice. They both want what’s best for the community.

At this point in the game, when we start getting into the nitty gritty of hammering out a community benefits or project labor agreement with a developer, our community institutions should find a way to work together. For instance, the coalition can use the board as a forum to lobby for its agenda and the board should show up to coalition meetings and rallies. The point is that when you’re trying to lift something, say a large rock or a Bronx community, two hands are better than one.