With Bronx Businesses Under Siege, A Bill to Stabilize Commercial Tenant Leases

By DAVID CRUZ

In the decades since Tom opened his Kingsbridge business, things had always been profitable and quiet. That was until last year when his landlord denied him his regularly five-year lease extension. Tom asked his last name be kept confidential for fear of retribution from his landlord who’s dangled month-to-month lease over his head. “My future’s uncertain there,” said Tom. He’s since refocused his attention on kick starting his restaurant business in nearby Westchester County, where small businesses are welcomed, he noted. Along Kingsbridge Road, a commercial area home to small businesses, many stores have maintained a holding pattern as the

By DAVID CRUZ

For 18 years, Kingsbridge residents who’ve relied on the Social Security Administration office knew the nearest site was 2720 Jerome Ave. But come Nov. 2, the SSA office will be relocated to 2501 Grand Concourse. Its more spacious office includes extra seating and interview windows for clients. The two-story property on Jerome, covering 19,000 square-feet of rentable space, is now up for grabs. Steeped by a main road and plenty of mass transit, the Kingsbridge SSA office was centralized around a bustling corridor. But a more attractive point is the fact it lies across the Kingsbridge Armory, slated to be

Progress at the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) can be seen in Google Maps. Even though it’s yet to break ground since winning a bid in 2013, the impending project slated inside the cavernous Kingsbridge Armory was still recognized by the online map provider. Under a rule imposed by the city Economic Development Corporation, which cleared KNIC to occupy the space, developers have a deadline of March next year to show it has funds to start the project. The project is estimated to cost $350 million. Developers plan to house nine ice skating rinks and a 5,000-seat arena inside the vacant castle that

Another Property Sold Blocks from Kingsbridge Armory

By DAVID CRUZ Another piece of property has sold for nearly $15 million in Kingsbridge, blocks from the Kingsbridge Armory. The transaction is just another sign of growing real estate activity near the Armory that’s now slated to become an enormous ice skating center. Eastern Consolidated brokered a deal with an unnamed buyer for the real estate property at 135-145 W. Kingsbridge Rd. just near the James J. Peters Veterans Hospital. The 67,000-square-foot property, is home to a six-story walk-up complete with 10 occupied retail stores and 57 mostly rent-regulated apartments. “The strength of the retail was a driving force in

Councilman Cabrera Appoints Members to Kingsbridge Armory Advisory Council

By DAVID CRUZ Councilman Fernando Cabrera, under a provision in a community benefits agreement between community leaders and developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) at the Kingsbridge Armory, has chosen members to join a panel overseeing the CBA’s execution.

Community Board 7 Leadership Remains the Same, But Two

By DAVID CRUZ Executive leadership virtually stood the same at Community Board 7, with one of the more contentious and heavily watched election races this year going to the incumbent.

KNIC Lease in Escrow Pending Full Funding of Project

By DAVID CRUZ Though developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC), slated to be built inside the cavernous Kingsbridge Armory, ensure the project is progressing, there are signs it hasn’t churned along as much as it wants the public to think.

Digital Edition of the Norwood News Is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ The latest edition of the Norwood News is hitting 300 locations throughout the northwest Bronx this morning, and it’s loaded with plenty of community news you can use. Here are some stories that can grab you: We begin what’s been happening in the neighborhood’s long running story: developments at the Kingsbridge Armory. Haydee Camacho delves into the story focusing on some folks wishing the Community Benefits Agreement tied to the Kingsbridge Armory Ice Center would have been fleshed out better. Worth a read. Valentine Avenue neighbors are still reeling over the death of a teen who plunged

By HAYDEE CAMACHO At a recent meeting sponsored by Community Board 7’s Economic Development Committee, Mark Messier, CEO of Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC), reassured the stakeholders in and around the Kingsbridge community that plans to develop a nine-rink, 5,000-seat arena at the Kingsbridge Armory are proceeding apace despite nearly a year of delays.