http://www.planNYC.org/ PlanNYC | New York City Planning Information Portal en-us ja3n@earthlink.net http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#4453 Community Board 7 is taking the lead to organize a number of meetings that will occur throughout the summer surrounding the development of Kingsbridge Armory. These meetings will bring various parties together who have vested interest in the project. Fernando Tirado, the District Manager of CB7, is hoping to use these meetings as an opportunity to create a positive relationship with Related, the developer for the site. Numerous local groups and organizations formed the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance, which is also an attempt to voice the community’s opinions but unlike CB7, is putting pressure on the developer to sign a community benefits agreement. 2008-07-15 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#4378 Bronx community groups surrounding the Kingsbridge Armory are looking to initiate a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) with developer, Related, to ensure some local needs are taken into consideration as the project formulates. While CBA's are not a widely used tool in New York, they are very successful in other states and are becoming more and more popular here as well. Community members would like to reach an agreement with the developer (without the City's involvement) in order to promise a minimum level of standards for jobs and hiring practices as well as the inclusion of much-needed recreational space and social services as well as the opportunity for local small business owners to locate in the development. The City feels that the public review process already addresses these needs and a CBA would not be necessary. 2008-06-25 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#4351 Bronx Community Board 7 is holding a series of meetings with the developer, Related Companies to ensure that they have a part in the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory. Related’s plans include a cinema, a gym, a bank, a community center and a large retail store. The Community Board will hold meetings with Related to discuss issues such as local hiring, wages, and business development within the armory. A representative from the Community Board expects to have a community benefits agreement set prior to voting on the plan. The City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure is scheduled to start in 2009. 2008-06-16 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#4156 KARA, a coalition of interested community groups concerned about the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, want to make sure that a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with the developer, the Related Companies, is enforceable and binding. Using the Gateway Mall CBA with Related as an example, the community is looking ahead to ensure compliance by the developer. Related has said they look forward to working with the community in developing a CBA. There should be sufficient time for negotiations, as the City’s public review process, the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), is not set to begin till 2009. 2008-04-29 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#4151 After a recent announcement that The Related Companies will be redeveloping the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx to be used as a private commercial shopping area, many Bronx community groups are urging the developers to reserve some space in the currently unused building for community use. Members of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance hope to be able to meet with the head of Related to negotiate the inclusion of a community facility such as a YMCA or Boys and Girls Club in the redevelopment plans. 2008-04-26 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#4143 The Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) rallied in front of City Hall on Thursday demanding that developer, the Related Companies, commit to a binding community benefits agreement before construction begins at the Kingsbridge Armory. The community is pushing for a “living wage” provision to be included as well as a guarantee that construction contacts go to locals. A top priority for KARA is also the inclusion of schools. While the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) included space for schools in its bids, the city’s Department of Education has said that no new schools are needed. The redevelopment plan must now go through the city’s public review process, the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP.) 2008-04-25 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#4138 The Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance will be voicing their concerns about the redevelopment plans for the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx at City Hall on Thursday. The Alliance, comprised of neighborhood groups, unions, and churches, wants to make certain that new jobs will pay living wages and that existing businesses won’t be displaced. The Alliance would also like to see the original plans to build a school be realized. 2008-04-24 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#4125 City officials officially announced that Related Companies won the bid to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory into a retail center. Related will transform the massive former National Guard site into a shopping center, complete with a “destination-type” anchor department store, a movie theater, smaller shops and restaurants. The site will also include a day-care center, a youth recreation center, and a “business incubator.” Many hope that the new development will serve as an economic catalyst for the surrounding Bronx neighborhoods. 2008-04-21 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#3936 The Related Companies has been chosen as the developer for the Kingsbridge Armory, although sources from the city’s Economic Development Corporation deny that a winner has been chosen. Members of Community Board 7 were notified last week that Related was selected as the developer to transform the Armory. Although details of the Related plan have not been released, the site will likely include a large retailer, movie theater, gym, a bank, and space for the community. Related may also include a small business incubator into the plans. Although the community pushed for school space, the School Construction Authority said that more space was not needed. Efforts to redevelop the Armory have been going on since 1996. 2008-03-21 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#3293 Students and local activists protested the Department of Education's (DOE) decision not to build two new schools in the renovated Kingsbridge Armory. The DOE announced that its updated 2005-2009 capital building plan includes enough school capacity for all the area’s students, and that schools in the Armory would be unnecessary. Critics claim that the DOE is underestimating the number of students in the area, and not taking into account overcrowding in the schools. 2007-11-05 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#3252 Rosenshein Associates recently abandoned its bid to develop the Kingsbridge Armory, leaving only the Atlantic Development Group and the Related Companies as bidders to develop the 575,000-square-foot structure, which has sat vacant for over a decade. The city is expected to announce the winning bid within the next month. The Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance, a neighborhood coalition, hopes that the winning bid will include provisions for a jobs that provide a living wage. 2007-10-30 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#3248 At a rally this past weekend, community members and members of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) urged the city to create a Community Benefits Agreement when redevelopment of the Armory occurs. The city owns the Armory and is expected to choose between The Related Companies and Atlantic Development Group to develop the site. The Community Benefits Agreement, or in some cases called a Living Wage Agreement, would require a “local hiring program and a requirement that 75% of Armory tenants pay living wages.” 2007-10-29 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#3236 Bronx residents have organized a coalition to address the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory. KARA (the Kingsbridge Amory Redevelopment Alliance) has formed even before the city’s announcement of the developer who will renovate the historic building. Residents want to be involved in the redevelopment process and to ensure that it reflects the needs of the community, one that is struggling with poverty and in need of economic and community investment. Members of KARA including labor unions and religious and community groups are planning a rally to gain attention in late October. 2007-10-26 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#2238 The Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Task Force, assembled by the city’s Economic Development Corporation, has finished its process of collecting bids for the Armory overhaul. However, the project has hit a speed bump. A confidentiality agreement that developers signed when they submitted their bids for the project has momentarily stalled the project’s progress; due to the agreements, the city can not show the bids to the Task Force, the very group appointed to review them. 2007-03-16 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=93#2218 A controversial confidentiality agreement has continued to stall the selection of a winning bid for the redevelopment plans of the 575,000 square foot Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx. Public officials, who sit on the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Task Force, are up in arms about a decision by the city's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to require that all details about the bid proposals must be kept silent from the public. The officials learned of the agreement prior to a March 1 meeting in which bid proposals were shared. The confidentiality requirement is unusual for public officials but common for the EDC who typically deals with the private sector where confidentiality agreements are customary. The EDC is continuing to work on a solution with the Bronx officials. 2007-03-14 00:00:00