Judge’s Proposal to Release KNIC’s Lease Attached with Stipulations

By DAVID CRUZ

A Bronx judge presiding over three of four intertwining cases linked to the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC), proposed to city lawyers it allow the ice center’s lease be freed from escrow “forthwith” until next February so it can raise funds needed to begin the long-awaited project. But Judge Ruben Franco of Bronx Supreme Court, blatantly nudging to advance the $350 million project, warned KNIC it would have to relinquish the lease if it doesn’t obtain the $138 million needed to proceed with the project’s first phase. “All deals are off,” said Judge Franco. The recommendation bore similarities to a proposal

Hello Loyal Readers! The ninth edition of the Norwood News, covering community news you can use, is out, hitting over 300 locations throughout Norwood and its surrounding neighborhoods. Of course, we begin in Norwood, at the enormous Tracey Towers. There, residents are supporting a proposal to review the books of its management company’s $40 million renovation. Read why the tenants association are backing an audit proposal. We then recap a meeting involving Norwood’s community stakeholders and the Bangladeshi community. Aldo Perez organized the meeting. Learn why he believes crimes against Bangladeshis and Muslims are under-reported. There’s also a piece on the story

By DAVID CRUZ

Developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) have shot down a deal with the city allowing them access to the vacant Kingsbridge Armory while their lease remains in escrow, among other things. The development came roughly a week after the city reached out to local and state elected leaders to support its new compromise that remains on the table. In a two-page letter emailed to the media before KNIC saw it, New York City Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen offered developers entry into the armory, with the lease still in escrow, so it can begin some major asbestos removal work. Glen,

Greetings Loyal Readers! The Norwood News is out with its latest edition, bringing you plenty of Bronx community news you can use. We begin with what was a late-breaking story into our newsroom: developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) taking the city to court over its delay of a lease developers say belongs to them. Read what KNIC is alleging in the 35-page complaint filed in Bronx Supreme Court. The development seriously endangers the project, which could force the community, elected officials and the city to start all over. Next, an editorial that shows our cards and respect

By DAVID CRUZ Developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) have filed a lawsuit against the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the city’s real estate arm that had given developers another month to demonstrate it had enough capital to proceed with the project at the city-owned property, the Norwood News has learned. The development could signal further delay, and perhaps endanger the project altogether. SEE THE SUIT: KNIC V. CITY OF NEW YORK In a 35-page summons and complaint filed in Bronx Supreme Court on April 12, the lawsuit alleges the city had breached a contract and

Dear Loyal Readers, The Norwood News, the Bronx community newspaper bringing you plenty of community news you can use, is out with its seventh edition of 2016! This week we once again go back to Kingsbridge Heights and a faceoff brewing between city officials and developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center. Apparently, the city is not satisfied with an explanation from KNIC saying it has money committed for the project. The New York City Economic Development Corporation is asking, “Show us the money!” Ice developers now have 30 more days to present funds. We also bring you stories on the

By DAVID CRUZ

BP Reflects on Development, Drawing Professional Workers, and Mayoral Ambivalence His innuendos were obvious, if not passive aggressive. But there he stood, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. spending 45 minutes in his seventh State of the Borough address chastising the de Blasio Administration for a number of perceived missteps. For political observers, it was a diatribe that once again stoked the burning question. Does Mr. Diaz want to be mayor of New York City? Can he really run the city? It’s an elephant in the room nurtured by daily speculation from inquisitive media and its propensity for validation. Though

Hello Faithful Readers! The digital edition of the latest Norwood News, bringing you plenty of Bronx community news you can use, is out and hitting stands as I write. So many stories, it’s hard to know where to begin. We can start at the front page, with a missing persons case that’s rattled Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights and the Bangladeshi communities in the Bronx. Mahfuza Rahman, an aspiring nurse and mother, has not been seen since December. Police are now looking to question the husband, who flew back to his native Bangladesh with their 9-year-old daughter. Find out what representatives from

By DAVID CRUZ

At the tail end of a long-awaited community forum that assessed the dormant status of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, Vera Navratilova finally got her turn to ask a pointed question left dangling for some time: when is the city going to release KNIC’s lease, and when is the groundbreaking? The question was directed at a dais of city officials and to John Neary, a principal of the highly-anticipated KNIC project, sitting at seven-member panel Feb. 17. The two-prong meeting put a sharp focus on the “unintended consequences” the large project could bring to the neighborhood but also asked where the