De Blasio Announces Support of Living Wage Legislation

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has come out in support of the Living Wage legislation, sending a letter yesterday to Christine Quinn, the Council speaker. Quinn has not yet signaled whether she's going to allow a vote on the bill.

Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 23

Today, we're devoting the roundup to the living wage legislation, which was debated in a City Council Committee hearing yesterday.

Norwood News tweeted live from the hearing.

One of the focuses of a New York Times article is Council Speaker Christine Quinn's questioning of both sides, including her asking opponents of the bill if they'd support it if it were scaled back to only include gigantic developments like stadiums and airports. Maybe, they said.

As Azi Paybarah of Capital points out, today's Daily News covers all sides of the argument: Citing concerns of small businesses in her community, Councilwoman Inez Dickens of Harlem withdrew her support for the living wage bill in a column in the Daily News today. Juan Gonzalez supports the legislation, and puts the spotlights on Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. whose leadership in the battle that defeated a mall at the Kingsbridge Armory gave birth to the legislation. Meanwhile, the paper's editorial page states yet again its opposition to the bill.

Here's Diaz's testimony.

Gotham Gazette has a good rundown of the politics surrounding the legislation.

A Sojourners magazine contributor writes in favor of the bill on Huffington Post. 

In case you missed it, despite heavy union support for the bill, three trade unions came out against it.

Speaker Quinn Speaks; Consents to Living Wage Hearing

For months, advocates of living wage legislation, including 30 members of the City Council, have pushed to get the bill a hearing, a necessary step in getting the measure through the chamber.

The stumbling block has been Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who was boosted into the Council from a progressive foundation of community organizing and housing advocacy. But in positioning herself to run for mayor, Quinn has tiptoed carefully between business interests and the determined campaigns of labor and grassroots groups around the city.

Questions about the issue make her testy. "You’re like a dog with a bone,” she told a Daily News reporter who asked her about the legislation last week.

Quinn relented Monday and agreed to a hearing. The move came after the bill supporters, including the Bronx's Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma who authored it, watered down the legislation so that it wouldn't apply to developments receiving less than $1 million in subsidies or to businesses with less than $5 million in revenue.

And last week, every state lawmaker in the Bronx, except for State Senator Jeff Klein who formed an Independent Caucus in the Senate with a few conservative Democrats, wrote to Quinn in support of the legislation, which grew out of the battle over a city plan to to subsidize the Related Companies mall project at the Kingsbridge Armory.

"Given the millions of dollars in profits developers take home to make these projects work, and the heavy subsidies that supplement that profit, we do not think it is too much to ask that the jobs created offer a 'living wage,'" the pols wrote. "In fact, it is the very least we can do, especially when these developers are taking so heavily from the taxpayers' wallet."

Yes, Quinn could table the bill after the hearing like she did with sick leave legislation last year, but this time there's the minor issue of a worldwide protest movement with a focus on income inequality taking root a stone's throw from Quinn's City Hall office. And if those protesters planting their flag in Zuccotti Park have shown one thing, it's that they don't mind taking a walk now and again.

Devastated Milbank Buildings Finally Sold

Speaker Christine Quinn, Mayor Bloomberg, Borough President Ruben Diaz, Sen. Gustavo Rivera and tenants celebrate the sale of the Milbank portfolio at a press conference yesterday.

By JORDAN MOSS and JEANMARIE EVELLY

It was a rare scene for the transfer of a residential apartment building: Tenants, a new landlord and a variety of city elected officials, from the mayor on down, gathered Tuesday for a press conference that turned out to be a celebration.

The now-infamous Bronx Milbank buildings, including one at 2264 Grand Avenue, were finally sold last week to a new landlord after months of local organizing and city involvement. Tenants, advocates and elected officials had fought to wrest the portfolio of 10 deeply troubled properties from irresponsible bankers and owners to a responsible party who could afford to make them livable again.

Over 100 people showed up for the announcement of the sale at 3018 Heath Ave., where the building had brand new windows -- the first of what tenants hope will be many improvements to come at this and the other Milbank properties.

"We now have someone to communicate with -- someone to hold accountable," said one tenant, Twyla Rashid, who described conditions at her building as “devastating.”

The one to hold accountable now is Steven Finkelstein, a Scarsdale-based landlord who purchased the mortgage and the deeds to the properties in a $28 million deal last week, and faces a mountain of some 4,000 housing code violations.

Vacca Holds Out On Living Wage; No Hearing Date Yet

City Councilman James Vacca is the only Bronx member of the Council who has yet to throw his weight behind the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act--the bill that would require developers of retail projects receiving taxpayer subsidies to pay workers $10 an hour with benefits, or $11.50 without.

This week, his spokesman Bret Collazzi said the councilman is waiting for an official hearing to be held on the legislation before he takes a stance.

“He’s open to the idea, but he’s not there yet,” Collazzi said. “He’s met with both sides, he’s interested in it, but he won’t make a decision until the hearing.”

The fate of a hearing lies in the hands of  Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has said that she's opening to the Council having one. Quinn spokeswoman Maria Alvarado said nothing has been scheduled yet.

"No hearing date has been set at this point, but the committee is continuing to work on finding a date," she wrote in an E-mail.

The living wage bill has lingered in the Council for almost a year; it was introduced last spring by Council Members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma, and has strong backing from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who led the effort to defeat the city’s plan to build a mall at the Kingsbridge Armory, mainly because the developer would not guarantee that retail workers be paid a living wage. [Corrected from an earlier version]

The bill currently has the support of 29 members, short of the 34 that would be needed to override a likely mayoral veto. Mayor Bloomberg has been vocal about his opposition to a living wage requirement on the grounds that it would harm small businesses and discourage development.

The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act would apply to any development project that receives more than $100,000 in tax breaks or city subsidies.

“We even exempted some small businesses to make sure we weren’t hurting small businesses that might not be able to pay these wages,” Council Member Koppell said at a rally for the legislation last month. “We worked hard to craft this bill so that there can be no exceptions [to it].”

Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 23

Police are searching for a Bronx man, who lives on University Avenue, in connection to a number of break-ins and burglaries on the Lower East Side.

Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo visited a now-empty juvenile detention center in upstate New York yesterday, citing it as an example of Albany dysfunction and inefficiency. Tryon Residential Facility for boys was made famous after a Bronx teenager died there in 2006 during a violent scuffle with staff at the facility, which will close this year.

The key witness in a Bronx court murder trial is now keeping mum and refusing to testify; prosecutors say he was intimidated into silence by the men being tried, and their cronies.

Local business owners are gearing up for the start of the Holiday shopping season this Black Friday, and looking for ways to entice reluctant shoppers.

With Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson and Senate President Malcolm Smith in the hot seat over Aqueduct raceway casino allegations, Bronx State Senator Jeff Klein is poised to climb the ranks of the Democratic Party this year, says Bob Kappstatter.

His column this week also gives a shout out to our very own Alex Kratz for his Norwood News story on the thriving prostitution trade near St. James park. 

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn released a report on the city's food industry yesterday, calling for a number of sweeping policy changes, including a revamping of the Hunts Point Market. Bronxite Harry Bubbins, of the community garden group Friends of Brook Park, weighs in, saying that Quinn and the Council need to put more support behind local gardens and urban farms.

A look into Cardinal Spellman High School's girls' basketball team this season.

Note: Don't forget to check out some of the new features on this site, like our events calendar, community forum, and the SeeClickFix feature, where you can report and track responses to neighborhood problems.

BP Diaz to Hold Forum on Retail Rent Control Bill

Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., is hosting a forum this Friday at Bronx Borough Hall to discuss the legal controversies surrounding the Small Business Survival Act, a bill brought before City Council last year that would have required commercial landlords to negotiate "reasonable" rents with small business tenants.

The city's landlords and real estate groups, as expected, opposed the legislation, which was written by Manhattan Council Member Robert Jackson and supported by a number of Bronx council members. The bill was essentially stalled last year after Speaker Christine Quinn--who more or less decides what comes up for a vote on the Council floor--questioned its legality, saying that forcing a rent negotiation could infringe on the rights of the landlord.

According to a press release, this Friday's event (which is also being sponsored by the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation) will have expert attorneys on hand to see if Quinn's assertions about the bill are true.

"This forum will try to determine if the Small Business Survival Act is fully constitutional and legally sound to withstand likely court challenges, and to recommend changes that would make it stronger to endure those possible court challenges," the release reads.

Last week, Diaz was on hand to break ground on a new "Business Incubator" at the BankNote Building in Hunts Point, which will offer discounted rents on work spaces for struggling new businesses owners.

The forum will be from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday on the first floor of Bronx Borough Hall, 851 Grand Concourse.

HPD Will Now Be "Proactive" in Repairing Milbank Buildings

Just a little followup to Greg's post below, about HPD's promise for extensive inspections and emergency repairs on the Milbank properties, a portfolio of crumbling Bronx apartments that went into foreclosure in 2009.

As Greg said, HPD Commissioner Rafael Cestero and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said today that the city will more aggressively address Milbank's plight by making thorough inspections, issuing violations and starting repairs on the most health-threatening problems, like apartments with lead paint in them.

Cestero, who took a tour of three of the buildings this week with tenant leaders and organizers from the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, said the conditions are some of the worst he's ever seen.

"I have to say, in my 21 years working in the affordable housing industry in this great city, I have never been more shocked, angered and frustrated," he told reporters on a conference call this morning.

HPD normally sends out inspectors to look at an apartment when someone lodges a housing complaint with 311. But officials said today that taking this "proactive" approach with Milbank--going in to make an inspection in an apartment even if no one has complained about it yet--will make the difference in turning the buildings around.

"That should send a message to any potential buyer," Quinn said. "HPD is going to be on the owner 24/7."

Bronx News Roundup, Oct, 27

Yesterday, charges were dropped for three of the 11 suspects arrested in connection with the anti-gay attacks in Morris Heights. The Bronx District Attorney’s office told the judge there was not enough evidence to move forward in the case. In response to Tuesday's court proceedings, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn released a statement criticizing the decision, saying: "To prematurely release individuals accused of such horrific crimes does not demonstrate a willingness to use every available tool to make sure justice is served. I urge DA Johnson to aggressively prosecute the remaining suspects, and to add the additional charge of hate crime to all suspects, including the one that was charged today."

The Bronx Museum of the Arts is going worldwide. The State Department announced yesterday it has selected the Bronx Museum to oversee amART power, a new exchange program for visual artists. The $1 million program will ship artists across America to 15 countries, including China, Ecuador, Kenya and Nepal.

The head of the City Council’s Transportation Committee wants to help ease E-ZPass bills for New Yorkers. East Bronx Councilman Jimmy Vacca said drivers should be allowed to pay their E-ZPass bills weekly instead of monthly and at local check-cashing shops. He also wants residents who don’t have a credit card or checking account - to typical manner through which E-ZPass bills are paid – to be permitted to pay their bill at a check cashing shop.Councilman Vacca plans to pitch his proposal at today’s MTA meeting.

For more information on the firing of Board of Elections chief George Gonzalez, here is a video from NY1.

The MTA Board approved the increase of toll fares. On the major crossings, the board is expected to raise tolls for E-ZPass users to $4.80. The one-way toll on the Verrazano Narrows will cost $9.60. On the minor crossings, like the Marine Parkway and Cross Bay Bridges, E-ZPass users will pay $1.80. The toll on the Henry Hudson Bridge will rise to $2.20. Those who pay cash will be hit even harder. Cash tolls on all major crossings will go up to $6.50, except for the Verrazano, where the price will rise to $13. Drivers on the smaller bridges will pay $3.25. The Henry Hudson will cost $4 for those paying cash. The toll and fare hikes are slated to take effect on Dec. 30.

Quinn Won't Support Paid Sick Leave Bill

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced this afternoon that she won't support a controversial bill that would require all businesses to provide paid sick days to their workers. Labor groups and politicians have been rallying for months to get the legislation passed (nearly every Bronx City Council member, and Borough President Diaz, supports it).

Her decision means a probable end for the bill, at least for now, despite the fact that it had the veto-proof support of 35 City Council members. As Council Speaker, Quinn decides what bills come to the floor for a vote--meaning the Paid Sick Leave Act will likely be shelved, as it's been for the past several months.

Quinn said she was concerned that the requirement would be too much for small business owners to take on during a time of recession.

"In an ideal world, we’d be able to provide all benefits to every New Yorker. In a better economy, we might have the financial freedom to both expand benefits and create new jobs. But that’s not the reality we live in," Quinn said in a statement sent out this afternoon. "Now is simply not the right time for a measure that threatens the survival of small business owners."

The Paid Sick Time Act would make all businesses with 20 workers or more provide nine paid sick days, while smaller businesses would have to give five.

Groups in support of the bill are already coming down hard on Quinn, with accusations that she's looking to appease the business community to safeguard potential future plans for a Mayoral run.

"Speaker Quinn's decision not to move forward with this bill is a victory for the fear-mongering tactics of business lobbyists who have opposed every piece of pro-worker legislation from child labor laws to the minimum wage," said  Bob Master, Co-Chairman for the Working Families Party.

Paid Sick Days Rally Canceled as Quinn Comes to Negotiating Table

Apparently the threat of a rally was all it took to get Council Speaker Christine Quinn to negotiate on a bill that would require city businesses to provide workers with paid sick leave. Most of the Bronx council delegation and Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. are hearty supporters of the legislation.

City Council Releases Report on Milbank's Woes

Council Speaker Christine Quinn at City Hall last week, announcing a new strategy to deal with distressed buildings like Milbank's (Photo by Jeanmarie Evelly)

Members of City Council and a number of housing advocacy groups unveiled a plan last Thursday to deal with the city's growing number of distressed, overleveraged properties--including 10 Bronx apartment buildings owned by Milbank Real Estate, which have been in worsening states of disrepair since the company went into foreclosure on the properties last year.

The program will elicit the help of pro-bono engineers and architects to assess the damage in properties like Milbank's so that tenants can have a detailed list of their building's problems, and better hold landlords accountable for making repairs.

"We believe it's important for residents to be armed, so they can advocate for their own solutions," said Andrew Reicher, executive director of the Urban Homestead Housing Board, which has been working with Milbank tenants for the past several months.

The first property survey, done by Baer Architect Group and the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, is a nightmarish list of 3,300 housing violations in the 10 Milbank's properties, which are scattered throughout the northwest Bronx. The study confirms what tenants have long been saying.

Complaints include leaking walls and ceilings, broken elevators, rotting floors and months without a working toilet in some apartments. It calculated that the cost of repairs for all the buildings could add up to over $24 million.

"It's reprehensible," said Charlene Barton, who lives in one of the properties at 1576 Taylor Avenue, and says she's been fighting a mold infestation for almost a year. "Why manage a building if you're not going to take care of it?"

Bronx News Roundup, September 29

Refugees from Bhutan have come to find a new home in the Bronx. Although many Bhutanese refugees are scattered throughout the Bronx, a large population is concentrated in one apartment building on University Avenue, according to The New York Times. The eight Bhutanese families living in the building share meals, job tips and more. Bhutanese refugees started moving into the United States in 2007 when Nepal refused to give them citizenship. The United States agreed to resettle 60,000 of these refugees and so far, about 170 Bhutanese have moved to New York.

The New York Times recently published a piece about Bronx residents lamenting the possible closing of the Botanical Station post office in Bedford Park. The Norwood News published an article about this issue in August.

If you are looking for an affordable, pleasant-looking apartment, The New York Times suggests looking in Mount Hope.

Bronx Assemblyman and Democratic Party chair Carl Heastie is teaming up with the Brooklyn Democratic Leader, Vito Lopez, to see if they can round up the 26 votes on the City Council needed to oust City Council Speaker Christine Quinn from the speaker's chair, according to the New York Post.

Speaking of Carl Heastie, the Assemblyman almost came to blows with Parkchester Assemblyman Peter Rivera last Thursday at a judicial nominating convention, according to the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter. The fight concerned Rivera's charges that Heastie was including him in decisions over judicial nominations for state Supreme Court. Kappstatter reports that the row could be a precursor to an effort to depose Heastie from the chairmanship.

Tom Robbins at the Village Voice also weighs in on the judicial nominating convention, pointing out that Stanley Schlein is still in the thick of things, despite from being barred from receiving court-appointed cases in 2006.

Meanwhile, a Heastie staffer is getting is getting noticed. His chief of staff, Marricka Scott-McFadden, was named as one of the newspaper City Hall's Rising Stars: 40 under 40. Also included in the list was another Bronx Assembly Member Vanessa Gibson.

Consultants hired by Morton Williams supermarket have come down hard criticizing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) released by Related Companies, the developer for the Kingsbridge Armory. The consultants claim that the development will cause overwhelming amounts of traffic congestion.

Quinn Endorses Baez; Polanco Steps Aside

The Bronx Democratic Party may have cut loose Councilwoman Maria Baez (they're supporting Fernando Cabrera, a pastor, in September's primary), but she still has friends in high places.

As she looks to secure a third term in office, Baez is being backed by mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, former Bronx BP Fernando Ferrer, and, we discovered yesterday, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

"She's been a great friend to her district, a great friend to the Bronx, and a great and loyal friend to me," said Quinn, speaking at a morning rally outside Baez's campaign office on East 181st Street.

Also present to show their support were Assemblymen Jose Rivera and Nelson Castro, Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo and her mother Assemblywoman Carmen E. Arroyo, and two or three other pols from other boroughs.

Assemblywoman Arroyo said people have tried to convince her to throw her weight behind another candidate, but she's not interested. "I said 'bring me a person who could do better than Maria.' But they don't have that person. That person doesn't exist," she said.

The younger Arroyo talked about Baez's "strength, character, and integrity." She said she called her the "quiet storm" because she works "very quietly, very consistently."

Said Baez, who represents the 14th District: "I've been in this community for 40 years, 30 years politically. I will not stop fighting for this community. I'm not going anywhere."

The event was billed as a "Women for Baez" rally, and perhaps 80 percent of the 100-plus crowd were women. At a guess, I'd say most were in the 60-plus age bracket.

"She's done a lot for the seniors, the schools, and she's not stuck up, I'll put it like that," long-time Morris Avenue resident Willie Simmons told me.

"Maria has always been the kind of person who makes time for you," said Anna McQuilla, who's lived in Mount Hope for 40 years.

I could go on, but you get the picture - there was a lot of people saying a lot of nice things.

At the rally, Baez introduced her new campaign manager, Yesenia Polanco, who until recently was one of Baez's potential primary opponents. Polanco told me she decided not to run back in May, but this is the first we've heard.

She said she realized that now wasn't her time, and so she looked carefully at the other candidates and decided to support Baez, who later offered her a job. "As a young Latina woman... she's very inspiring," said Polanco, a former state legislative aide.

Hmm... I wonder if things really went down like that. One thing I did hear is that Baez's decision to hire her came out of the blue, surprising at least some of the councilwoman's staff and others working on her campaign.

Regardless, as of yesterday, there's officially five candidates in the race, not six.




TOP PHOTO: Baez is at the mic, Quinn is in the center, Councilwoman Arroyo is on the left. BOTTOM PHOTO: Yesenia Polanco

Tenant Harrassment Hearing Thursday Morning

City Council is holding a second hearing on what they are calling "landmark tenant harassment legislation" (Intro. 627) tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. at City Hall.

Mt. Hope Monitor editor James Fergusson wrote about the bill when housing advocates protested against Bronx Council Member Maria Baez for introducing and sponsoring a competing bill, Inro. 638 (as did Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera) that was deemed decidedly pro-landlord.

Baez and Rivera's pro-landlord bill is now dead after they dropped their support for it in December, but the pro-tenant bill (627), championed by Council Speaker Christine Quinn, is gaining momentum.

Several housing groups here in the northwest Bronx are working hard to push 627 through the Council and it would be a huge victory for them and the tenants they are working for if it passes.

Stay tuned. We'll hopefully have an update on this legislation toward the end of the week.

Baez's Housing Bill Dead

A controversial housing bill is dead, says the Daily News, after its sponsors - Bronx Council members Maria Baez and Joel Rivera - climbed down amidst stern opposition and claims that the legislation would threaten affordable housing. The bill's defeat seems to have cleared the path for a different bill, the so-called Tenants Protection Act, which is supported by tenant rights groups and the majority of the City Council. A hearing on this bill is set for Dec. 17.

If passed, the Tenant Protection Act will allow tenants to sue landlords for harassment in housing court. (Anti-harassment legislation is needed, say advocates, because landlords are increasingly trying to force out long-term tenants so they can bring in new tenants with deeper pockets. Baez's bill would have allowed tenants to sue for harassment, but, crucially, it would have empowered landlords to sue tenants for the same thing.)

For more about these two bills, pick up the December issue of the Mount Hope Monitor (it's not yet online as we're having Web issues). The story's also going in tomorrow's Norwood News. Also, if you haven't already, read what Tom Robbins of the Village Voice had to say. Robbins suggests, among other things, that Rivera threw his weight behind Baez's bill because the real estate industry is helping to fund his (expected) run for borough president. There was also an earlier Daily News piece on these bills, and something on WNYC.

All of this media attention led off from a protest outside Baez's district office on Nov. 27 (pictured), which was organized by Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA). At the time, Baez's office issued a statement in which Baez said, "We are having a healthy discussion and debate about both bills."

With today's news, the debate, it would seem, is now officially over.

(Photo by James Fergusson)

It's Official -- Efforts to Extend Term Limits are Dead

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced today that the Council is abandoning all efforts to extend or repeal term limits, which currently limits all New York City elected officials -- Council member, public advocate, comptroller, borough presidents and mayor -- to two 4-year terms. (It does not apply to the city's representatives to the state legislature or officials elected statewide, like the governor, the attorney general and the comptroller).

Here's Quinn's full statement:

After careful consideration and discussions with my colleagues in the Council, I have decided not to pursue a change in New York City's term limit law. I will neither support legislation nor will I seek or support a new referendum eliminating or altering term limits.

Over the last two years, the City Council has pursued an agenda of reform and democratization. We have strengthened our lobbying and campaign finance laws, increased transparency in the budget process and improved our constituent services by implementing CouncilStat. I believe that overruling the will of New Yorkers - who have voted twice in favor of term limits - would be anti-democratic and anti-reform.

While our City is certainly doing well, we still face many challenges. On education, jobs, housing and health care, working New Yorkers need our help. That means the Council and the Administration must focus our attention on these critical issues and not be distracted by a political debate over term limits - a matter that has already been settled by the voters.

I look forward to working with my colleagues over the next two years to make New York and an even greater place to live.

Bronx News Roundup for Nov. 28

The Bronx Criminal Courthouse, plagued by two years of delays and millions of dollars in cost overruns, is finally ready to open, according to the State Dormitory Authority.

Looks like there won’t be an effort to repeal or extend term limits.

Coca Cola rolls a fleet of hybrid electric trucks out of its Bronx Service Center.

Tenants protest Maria Baez's sponsorship of a tenant harassment law they say gives ammunition to landlords but prevents tenants from fighting back. Bronx Council member and majority leader Joel Rivera supports it, too. But Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the rest of the Bronx delegation support an alternate measure that puts more teeth in tenant protections.
This WNYC report says landlords fear frivolous claims will clog the court system.

And the Village Voice looks into $30,000 in campaign contributions to Adolfo Carrion by an elevator company that just got a $5 million windfall from the city to purchase air rights over its property to make way for a pedestrian bridge to the new Yankee Stadium.

Quinn's Thinking on Term Limits

All the discussion on this blog and elsewhere about candidates seeking City Council seats in 2009 depends almost entirely on the assumption that term limits will kick in then. That's a fair assumption, since that's the law. But when she ran for Council speaker, Christine Quinn indicated that she wanted to extend term limits to three 4-year terms instead of two. I've been wondering lately what became of all this. I haven't heard anything. Until now. Liz Benjamin of the Daily Politicker brings us an update.

Speaker, Back in the Bronx, Tours Armory

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn ventured into the Bronx for the third time this week, to take a tour of the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory, a giant castle in the middle of Community Board 7.

In October, the city will decide on one of two developers -- the prolific Peter Fine's Atlantic Development Group or Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff's friends, the Related Companies -- to turn the Armory into a mixed-use development.

Representatives from the Retail Workers Union, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) and the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) joined up with an armada of Bronx politicians, including Council members, Joel Rivera, Oliver Koppell and Maria Baez (the first time, after nearly 15 months on the job here in the northwest Bronx I've ever seen her in person) and also Bronx Democratic Chairman and State Assemblyman Jose Rivera (catching all the action with his hand-held video camera). Borough prez Adolfo Carrion showed up for a brief cameo.

For Quinn, the tour was an educational exercise. She didn't want media attending the tour (I attended because I found out about it and tried to act as un-journalistic as possible) and claims to have no position, yet, on what the Armory should contain or bring to the community.

"I'm looking at my schedule today and I'm thinking, 'Who's Kara?,'" she said, drawing a laugh from the crowd of about 35 aides, organizers and city agency employees.

But for the stakeholders, the union, KARA, NWBCCC and the council members, this was an opportunity to lay out their redevelopment vision -- living wage jobs, environmental sustainability, added school seats, ample community space, etc. -- to the head of the City Council, which will have a chance to a chance to approve or rejects plans for the Armory during the land review process, likely to happen sometime next summer or fall.

The biggest pushes appear to be to add school seats (the DOE dropped plans to build two schools at the site), assure good jobs for people in the community (the developers balked at including living wage job requirements in their original proposals) and the signing of a community benefits agreement.

Recently, the developers revised their original plans to accommodate recommendations from the Armory Task Force (an advisory group set up by the city), KARA and CB7, but the community has yet to see what those revised plans look like.

Someone from the Economic Development Corporation, the city agency managing the Armory project, said the city would choose a developer sometime in October.

(Above, a photo of the massive Kingsbridge Armory hovering over the 4 train station at Kingsbridge Road) -- By Alex Kratz