Bronx Living Wage Campaign Heats Up

Text and Videos By JORDAN MOSS


Untitled from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.

The campaign that would require developers of retail projects receiving taxpayer subsidies to pay a living wage -- $10 with benefits and $11.50 without -- is heating up as advocates press for an April City Council hearing. Council Speaker Christine Quinn has said she would allow hearings on the bill, which has 29 supporters, including every Bronx member of the City Council except for James Vacca of the east Bronx. Vacca was very much on the minds and tongues of numerous speakers at a Living Wage NYC rally last week at the Bronx Pentecostal Deliverance Center on the anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death.

The legislation was introduced by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., (see the video above) who led the effort to defeat the city’s effort to build a mall at the Armory, mainly because the developer would not guarantee that retail workers be paid a living wage. Council Members Oliver Koppell (speaking in the video below) and Annabel Palma are leading the charge in the Council.


Oliver Koppell Speaks At Living Wage Rally from Bronx News Network on Vimeo.

Mayor Bloomberg is on record opposing the bill, but with five more backers, the Council would have enough votes to override his veto.

B - to the - R - to the - O - N - X!!! News Roundup, Feb. 25

We're skipping the usual intro today and just giving you the "BX Marks the Spot" hip hop video shown yesterday at Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.'s state of the borough speech yesterday. Produced by Bronxnet's Derek Woods and featuring Opera Steve, Silkedeezy and Steve Kane, the video was created in response to what Diaz Jr. perceived as negative stereotyping of the borough by "American Idol." Enjoy. The Bronx, The Broooooooooooonx!



Story of the Day:
Diaz Jr. spoke at length yesterday about his support for the Fair Wage for New Yorkers Act, also known as the "living wage" bill, which was born out of the battle over wages during the Kingsbridge Armory mall negotiations in 2009. The legislation, sponsored by Bronx council members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma, would tie city subsidies to wage guarantees. In other words, under this law, if a developer receives city subsidies -- tax breaks, no-interest loans, etc. -- then the companies who move into the devleopment will be required to pay employees who work there, $10 an hour, plus benefits, or $11.50 an hour, without benefits.

City Limits writer Neil deMause sifts through the arguments on both sides of the issue in this hearty piece of in-depth journalism.

A couple of follow-up notes on this: 29 Council members support bill, including everyone in the Bronx delegation aside from Jimmy Vacca. They need five more to create a veto-proof super majority. Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera told me yesterday that they will work hard to get Vacca into the fold, but that the east Bronx representative has a "different constituency" than he and the other Bronx delegates and that the living wage issue isn't as important to them, and consequently, Vacca. "All politics is local," Rivera said. Stay tuned.

Quick Hits:

Bronx Faith Leaders Throw Support Behind Living Wage Bill

Ed. note: This story appears in the latest edition of the Norwood News.

Clergy members from the Bronx and across the city led a silent march on City Hall on Nov. 17 to voice their support for the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, or “Living Wage Bill.”

The legislation, sponsored by Bronx Council members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma, would require most development projects that receive public funding to pay workers employed there a living wage — $10 an hour with benefits or $11.50 an hour without.

The bill was sparked by a contentious debate last December over the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, when the City Council — backed by a fierce coalition of Bronx advocates and Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. — voted down plans for a shopping mall at the hulking Kingsbridge Road landmark.

The Related Companies would not agree to require retailers to pay a living wage there, despite the fact that the group was slated to receive tens of millions of dollars in subsidies, had the project been approved.

The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act has gained momentum since its introduction in May, and faith leaders from churches and synagogues across the city say they are putting their support behind the bill.

“I am distressed by the number of our parishioners who are behind in their rent, deep in debt and working second jobs to try to catch up,” said Rev. Doug Cunningham of New Day United Methodist Church, a parish based in Bedford Park and Norwood.

New in the Norwood News

Just in time for the weekend, the latest edition of the Norwood News is out on streets and online now. Here's a quick preview:

Bronx Community College students, staffers and faculty "March for Dignity." Plus, an op-ed from one of the march organizers.

Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the mayor's office square off again over a Bronx development space that has implications for the Kingsbridge Armory. (I'm detecting a theme between these two political entities.)

Speaking of development, Bronx pols say the city's new living wage study is rigged to favor the mayor's view on development.  

High School football rivals DeWitt Clinton and John F. Kennedy are struggling through growing pains this year.

More on the great pumpkin carving king.

In a move to curb New York's rampant obesity and diabetes problems, the city looks to ban people from using food stamps to purchase soda and other sugar-heavy drinks.

And much more.

Follow us on Twitter: @norwoodnews and check us out and like us on Facebook.

Kingsbridge Armory Battle Inspires Citywide Living Wage Bill

Two Bronx politicians are picking up the torch from the living wage campaign that was at the heart of last year's battle over the Kingsbridge Armory.

City Council members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma introduced a bill yesterday, dubbed the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, that would require all development projects that receive public subsidies from the city to pay workers eventually employed there a living wage--$10 an hour with benefits or $11.50 an hour without.                                                                                      

Living wage--just $2.75 more than the mandated minimum wage of $7.25, and adding up to about $18,000 a year, according to Koppell--was a hot button topic last year during the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory. The City Council voted down plans for a shopping mall at the hulking Bronx building in December because Related Companies, the developer, would not agree to a living wage provision for workers there, despite the fact that the group would be getting millions of dollars in taxpayer funded credits.

"Today, we're showing everyone that this debate is not just about one parochial section of the Bronx. This is a citywide debate," said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who joined a bevy of Bronx pols and leaders--and those from other boroughs--on the steps of City Hall yesterday to show their support of the bill.

No Deal Yet, But Bronx Delegation Hopeful

The short-hand version is that there was no deal reached between the city and the Bronx delegation on a community benefits agreement that would include living wage job guarantees ($10 an hour, plus benefits). But things are moving in a positive direction and the delegation is hopeful that a deal will get done that will provide living wage jobs at the Kingsbridge Armory.

That's a far cry from earlier this morning, when the delegation was prepared to kill the project.

Now, the longer version.

The meetings of the Zoning and Franchises and Land Use committees has been pushed back until at least Friday, but possibly all the way until Monday -- the drop dead deadline for a Council decision on the Armory project. This is key because if the Council doesn't act on Monday, then the fate of the project will be up to the City Planning Commission, which approved of it, benefits agreement or not, six weeks ago.

"We won't let that happen," said Council speaker Joel Rivera, who has thrust himself into a citywide spotlight on this issue.

Live from City Hall: Armory Negotiations Heating Up

We're live from City Hall, where a bunch of reporters, KARA reps, union folks and Related Companies officials (also just saw Avi Kaner, part-owner of Morton Williams supermarkets, which has its headquarters across from the Armory) are milling about, playing the waiting game.

All of us are waiting for an update on negotiations between the city and the Bronx delegation of the City Council on an Armory community benefits that would include guarantees of living wage jobs ($10 and hour plus benefits).

Earlier today, we reported that negotiations fell apart last night.

At about 10 a.m., Council member Joel Rivera, who, along with fellow Bronxite Annabel Palma, is taking a leadership role in these negotiations, made an announcement that the Council was prepared to vote down the plan unless the delegation heard from the city and/or Related (at this point we can lump them together as one negotiating team) in an hour.

Clearly, the city came back to the table and the two sides have been talking for the past couple of hours. A little before noon, Rivera and the delegation went from the Council side of City Hall over the mayor's side, which means that perhaps these talks are going higher up the ladder or have entered a new phase.

I just heard from KARA representatives that the main sticking point appears to be which party is ultimately responsible for making sure employees at the revamped shopping mall are paid a living wage.

On Monday, the Bronx delegation put forth a proposal that would create a fund that would subsidize wages at the Armory mall. That's still the proposal on the table. But if the fund doesn't pay fully for the wages, which appears likely, who is responsible for paying the rest of the wage? Related, the owner of the property? The city, which is pushing the project? Or tenants, the shop owners at the mall?

What's clear is that, from all the attention being placed on providing living wage jobs at city-subsidized development projects like the Armory, the issue is not going away any time soon.

And we may not get a definitive answer on negotiations anytime soon. A meeting of the entire Council, scheduled for 1:30 p.m., has been postponed because of the Bronx delegation's deliberations with the city.

Just saw the entire Bronx delegation briskly pass by, going from mayor's side back to the council side. Are they weighing the merits of the city's latest compromise? Lunch?

All Rivera would say is: "we're working, we're working." Well, that's something.

One last tidbit for now: Council member-elect Fernando Cabera (14th District) is in on the negotiations. Where's Maria Baez?

Stay tuned.

Diaz Calls Economic Development Fight at Armory ‘A New Civil Rights Movement’

Bronx B.P. Diaz delighted the crowd with his demand for living wage jobs at the Armory.
(All photos by Adi Talwar)

Speaking before a crowd of at least 1,000 people who mobbed the gym floor at St. Nicholas of Tolentine School last Sunday, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. said the battle for living wages jobs at the Kingsbridge Armory was the beginning of a movement for economic justice in the borough, calling it “our new revolution here, our new civil rights movement.”

The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition organized the forum, called “A Blueprint for the Bronx,” to lay out their agenda on a broad range of issues at the federal, state, and city level, including immigration reform, universal healthcare, vacancy decontrol, and overcrowded schools. But most of the crowd said they were there to support community efforts to ensure living wage jobs and school space at the Kingsbridge Armory.

People came from all over the Bronx, and many came straight from church. They arrived singing hymns in English and Spanish and carrying homemade signs and banners with the name of their congregations. Many arrived on buses organized by their church.

"We're protesting about the armory. We want to make the decision about what goes in the armory," like a school, said Greg Miller, who came on a bus with, he estimated, 60 other people from Walker Memorial Baptist Church on East 169th Street. "We have enough stores around here," he said.

"We don't need any more stores in the Bronx," agreed Idrena Adams of the East Bronx, who came with members of her congregation from St. James Church nearby. "We want better jobs, better pay."

A group from University Heights Presbyterian Church arrived and stood outside singing hallelujah and clapping as they waited to sing in and enter the gym. Rev. Brenda Berry said they had come "In support of the Armory project, to fight for full-time jobs for the Bronx and a whole new focus on what the Bronx needs." She was expecting 100 members of her congregation to show up.

The Tolentine gym was filled to capacity.

Inside, people packed the gym in the basement of the Tolentine Church, filling folding chairs, bleachers, and standing along the walls, waving small flags that read "Blueprint for the Bronx." Signs on the walls said, "Say no way to poverty pay!" and "Save our jobs! Vote No!"

Up on stage, elected officials and clergy members sat facing the audience, and for two hours, NWBCC organizers, local clergy, and local elected officials spoke, interspersed with music, dance, and a poetry recital. Members of the NWBCC pulled elected officials up to the microphone and asked them to answer straight on the coalition's agenda, ranging from banking reform to, of course, the armory.

Switching back and forth between Spanish and English for the benefit of the crowd, Diaz focused on the Armory, and what he called, "our new revolution here, our new civil rights movement."

"I want to do business in the Bronx,” Diaz said, [but] “it is not radical to simply say, a) we should protect surrounding businesses and b) we should have jobs and living wages," Diaz said. ""You want to do business, we can do business. But business has to be good for everybody. "

‘Bronx has my back!’

Diaz added that the political pressure on him to support the deal with Related before a community benefits agreement has been signed has been intense. "But I know the Bronx has my back!" he shouted, bringing the crowd to its feet in a din of cheers and whistles.

After his speech, Diaz told the Bronx News Network he didn't yet have the support of the full Bronx delegation in the City Council, which will vote on the project next month. "If Related does not want to negotiate, I will ask the City Council to vote no," he said, adding that he had a three-hour breakfast with the Bronx delegation on Saturday. But, he said, "I'm not willing to guarantee that the entire delegation is together" right now.

Diaz said the vote earlier this month at the City Planning Commission, in which two other borough presidents directed their representatives to vote with him against the plan, was encouraging: "I think the tone is changing,” he said. “I think they [Related] realize we have a lot of support outside the borough."

As for the Council members present at the forum, Joel Rivera, the Council’s majority leader who represents the 15th District, promised to vote no on the project unless Related negotiates with KARA. Asked about her position when she left the meeting, Melinda Katz of Queens, who chairs the Council’s Land Use Committee, was noncommittal. “I’m here to support the Coalition,” she said.

[We were not able to approach Councilman Oliver Koppell, who represents the northwest Bronx and has long taken an interest in the Armory, and Robert Jackson of Manhattan for their positions before they left.

Council Member Maria Baez, who was defeated for reelection in the September primary and will leave office at the end of this year, was not in attendance, even though Tolentine and the armory are in her district.]

March to the Armory

After the forum, the remains of the crowd marched to the Kingsbridge Armory, breaking into intermittent shouts of "Si, se puede!" and "Yes, we can!"

Queens councilman Tony Avella, chair of the City Council's Zoning & Franchises committee, turned up to tell the crowd, "Until you get what you want, I'm voting no."

Councilman Tony Avella of Queens spoke to the crowd at the Armory.

As the crowd dispersed, NWBCC organizers passed out small 'prayer cards' with residents' wishes for the armory written on them, for protesters to tie to the armory fence.

As she fastened a string of the prayer cards to the fence, Anne Gibbons, a Kingsbridge resident who came with members of her congregation at New Day Church, said she was hopeful that momentum was building around the issue. "This could be the start of a new direction across the city," she said, when elected officials "take a political risk in favor of the people for a change."

--This story was reported and written by Rachel Waldholz.

New from the Norwood News

The latest edition of the Norwood News is hot off the presses and on streets and online now. Here's a quick preview of some of the stories you'll find.

Some in-depth Kingsbridge Armory development project coverage, including a look at Community Board 7's approval (with conditions) of the Armory plan.

The day after the vote, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) held a rally to push the issue of living wage jobs ($10 an hour, plus benefits) at the Armory once the mall is completed. Union leaders and mayoral candidate Bill Thompson showed up to voice their support.

We try to make sense of all the zany twists going on in the 14th District Council race.

On Monday night, a young man was found murdered on the Grand Concourse.

A host of initiatives are bringing more fresh produce to the northwest Bronx.

Our Inquiring Photographer asks residents what they think about the impending confirmation of Bronxite Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

Plus, find out everything that's going on in the local arts and entertainment world in our Out & About section. And check out all the local programs, services and opportunities in our Neighborhood Notes section.

Kingsbridge Armory Coverage Preview

This is a slideshow of photographs of the majestic Kingsbridge Armory by Adi Talwar. We thought it would be a fitting introduction to our extensive Armory coverage in this week's edition of the Norwood News. Here's a preview of the stories to get you up to date on all things Armory.

Here's our coverage of the latest public hearing on the Armory, a raucous four-hour marathon affair.

We run through two of the biggest issues that came out of the hearing:
-How The Related Companies' plan to put a supermarket in the Armory will affect the Morton Williams supermarket chain, which has a store and its headquarters across the street.
-Will the Armory bring living wage jobs to local residents and should the developer in fact require retailers to do so?

In its plan for the Armory, Related has decided to include a World Peace Atrium, which Community Board 7 land use chairman Ozzie Brown has been pushing for months.

Here's our Armory fact file.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. is working behind closed doors to craft a Community Benefits Agreement with Board 7 and the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA).

Why this a huge opportunity for Diaz to demonstrate his leadership skills.

Why Board 7 should vote no (with conditions) on the Armory project.

Work in Retail? We Need to Hear From You (Today)

Good morning. I'm posting this again, because we're still looking for input from Bronxites and other New Yorkers about their experience working for retail chains. Deadline is today at 5 p.m., so if you can help out, now's the time. Thanks! -- Jordan Moss

Central to the roiling debate over the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory is a demand by community organizations that the developer require prospective retailers to pay a "living wage." So, we thought we'd ask our readers who work in retail a few questions, including what your hourly wage is and whether it's enough to support you and your family.

The responses we get will be incorporated into an article we are working on for the next edition of the Norwood News. We are collaborating on this with the Huffington Post, which has a brand new New York site. The article we write will appear both in the Norwood News and on the Huffington Post. (The same questions are being asked on Huffington Post.)

So, tell us about your own experiences working in the city's retail stores by sending answers to the following questions to nycwages@gmail.com. If you can't answer all of the questions, we still want to hear from you - the ones below are just a guide. We will be using your anecdotes to compile a story this week.

Where do you work?

What is your hourly wage?

What kind of benefits do you get, if any?

What kind of work do you do?

How long have you been in your current job?

Are you unionized? What union do you belong to?

Is your wage enough to support you (and your family if you have one)? Or do you rely on other sources of income/support, such as a spouse/partner's/child's salary, another job, or public assistance (food stamps, section 8, etc.)? How many people are in your family?

Include any other information you'd like us to know.

Please submit your responses to nycwages@gmail.com.

Work in Retail? Do You Make a 'Living Wage'?

Central to the roiling debate over the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory is a demand by community organizations that the developer require prospective retailers to pay a "living wage." So, we thought we'd ask our readers who work in retail a few questions, including what your hourly wage is and whether it's enough to support you and your family.

The responses we get will be incorporated into an article we are working on for the next edition of the Norwood News. We are collaborating on this with the Huffington Post, which has a brand new New York site. The article we write will appear both in the Norwood News and on the Huffington Post. (The same questions are being asked on Huffington Post.)

So, tell us about your own experiences working in the city's retail stores by sending answers to the following questions to nycwages@gmail.com. If you can't answer all of the questions, we still want to hear from you - the ones below are just a guide. We will be using your anecdotes to compile a story this week.

Where do you work?

What is your hourly wage?

What kind of benefits do you get, if any?

What kind of work do you do?

How long have you been in your current job?

Are you unionized? What union do you belong to?

Is your wage enough to support you (and your family if you have one)? Or do you rely on other sources of income/support, such as a spouse/partner's/child's salary, another job, or public assistance (food stamps, section 8, etc.)? How many people are in your family?

Include any other information you'd like us to know.

Please submit your responses to nycwages@gmail.com.

Marathon Armory Hearing Full of Twists

I have been to several New York City public hearings and the one last night about the proposal to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory, one of the world's largest armories, was undoubtedly the most interesting, and the longest.

Clocking in at just over four hours, the Armory hearing in the Lehman College faculty dining room, which was required of Community Board 7 which must vote on whether or not to support the project according to city's land use review process, featured everything from folk peace songs to near violence.

I'm not going to get into everything in this post, but I did want to run through a few of the highlights quickly.

The evening started out with a bang as about a hundred or so construction union guys, mostly from Positive Workforce, a big supporter of the Armory's designated developer, the Related Companies, literally bum rushed past cops and security guards into the dining room and installed themselves as a backdrop to all the night's speakers.

Several attendees were startled by their aggressiveness, others felt intimidated. Their message throughout the night was clear: build at the Armory now.

The hearing began at 6:30 p.m. By 7 p.m., police weren't letting anyone else in, citing fire code concerns. We managed to smuggle ourselves in through a sewer pipe. Not really, but you get the picture, space was tight. (A special thanks to Fernando Tirado, Community Board 7 district manager, for getting the press inside to witness the festivities.)

The hearing began with a round of "special" speakers (I think because they were disabled, they were allowed to speak first) from Co-op City who praised the project because of its apparent similarities to the Bay Plaza mall, which they think added to their part of the Bronx. It seemed kind of random.

Next up was Community Board 7's presentation of its idea, which Related has adopted into its design plans, for a World Peace Atrium inside the Armory. To kick off this presentation, CB7 land use chairman Ozzie Brown brought in his old friend Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary fame) to sing a song and say some words.

This is where things got a little awkward. Yarrow began by singing, "If I Had a Hammer," which was met with a tepid response from the audience. A second attempt was more successful, with about half the crowd joining in and clapping and singing along. As soon as the song concluded, representatives from the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) -- which came out in full force and dominated the speaking portion of the hearing -- began a forceful and deafening chant: "What do we want?" "GOOD JOBS!" When do we want 'em?" "NOW!"

Peter Yarrow sings a peace song at the Armory hearing

After things calmed down, Yarrow spoke about the civil rights movement and how the country had become increasingly angry and polarized over the years, but was coming around now with the election of Barack Obama. He was frequently interrupted by people yelling out things like: "How much are they paying you?" and "Gentrification isn't civil."

Later, Yarrow said he was surprised by the level of disrespect and animosity at the hearing, adding that he was not there to support the project, per se, but to facilitate constructive dialogue. He said he empathized with the anger being expressed, but seemed saddened and disturbed by the whole scene.

In any case, Ozzie Brown went on to present his World Peace Atrium idea, which, as I mentioned earlier, Related has adopted into its design plan. It's still a little unclear exactly what this will entail, but from what I understand it will be kind of an educational tribute/museum to peace workers like Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi and Mother Teresa, complete with statues and informational kiosks.

After this, Ethan Goodman, a lawyer for the Related Companies gave a 15-minute presentation on their plans for the Armory, saying they wanted to open up the former closed-off military installation to the community. We'll get into this more later, but at the end, Goodman talked about the community space, which he said would amount to 27,000-square-feet. Besides the Peace Atrium, Related's plan looked pretty much the same as it did when they first won the bid last year. They've also included 60,000-square-feet of space for a large retail store or supermarket, which representatives from Morton Williams, which owns the Associated supermarket across the street from the Amory, said would destroy their two Bronx supermarkets and force them to close shop in the borough for good (more this later too).

Related's presentation was followed by essentially three kinds of public testimony: KARA representatives (lots of them, they dominated the hearing, no question) who told Board members to vote no on the project unless Related signed a Community Benefits Agreement, which would include union protections, living wage job requirements (which Related says is a non-starter) and free or affordable recreation space; representatives from Morton Williams who were adamantly opposed to the supermarket idea for obvious reasons; and construction workers from Positive Workforce who supported the project wholeheartedly.

More coverage and photos and thoughts about this tomorrow.

The Community Board will vote on the project on July 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bronx Library Center.

End Game at Kingsbridge Armory; And Hey, What About Schools?

Tonight formally opens the public review known as the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) as Community Board 7 convenes a required public hearing on the redevelopment of the Kingsbrige Armory. The meeting starts at 6:30 at Lehman College. Click here for details. The Board itself will vote (which is only advisory) on July 14.

But this is closer to the end of a long saga than the beginning of a land use battle. The Norwood News has been writing about this issue for 16 years (here's a link to archive of Norwood News armory stories dating back to 1998). I began writing about it as a freelancer for the Norwood News in 1993 when the National Guard first vacated the main building (the head house and drill hall) and then-District 10 Superintendent John Rehill proposed turning the entire facility into an education complex.

If you're new to the subject, this overview in the New York Observer covers most of the essential issues and conflicts, the main one being the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance's demand that retailers at the development pay workers a "living wage." Alex Kratz wrote about the living wage issue in the Norwood News a couple of months ago.

Speaking of the living wage issue, three pastors involved with KARA penned an op-ed in the latest issue of the Norwood News (will hit the streets and the Web by tomorrow morning) calling on Community Board 7 to vote no on the Related Plan since it doesn't include a living wage provision.

Meanwhile, Community Board 7 chair Greg Faulkner has indicated that the Board will probably vote for the Related proposal with conditions. He feels that's the only way to have leverage with Related when a Community Benefits Agreement gets crafted. If they just vote no, he believes the developer will just move on to the next level of review and ignore the community.

What everyone seems to agree on is that this massive landmark shouldn't be redeveloped into just a shopping mall and that a big chunk of community space should be in the final plan. Though the Rehill fantasy of transforming the facility into a giant complex of public schools obviously never materialized, getting public schools into the mix was a driving force for local parent activists. The Armory, after all, is at Ground Zero for the worst crowding in District 10, which in turn has long been the second or third most crowded district in the city. Three short blocks away, kids at PS 246 are still crammed into classes that were designed as dormitory rooms in a home for the blind. Somehow they've managed to fend off the portable classroom craze that has sucked up almost every other school yard in the district.

Foor a long time, it seemed that while schools wouldn't be allowed inside the armory (the Landmarks Commission definitely wouldn't have allowed developers to punch holes in the facade to allow for the necessary light, etc.) the annex buildings and the property they're on behind the armory could accommodate two or three public schools. It was a major priority for the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition until the Department of Education poured cold water on the ideas more than a year ago.

The RFP (request for proposals) didn't include the annex buildings behind the armory because the Guard still occupied them. But it seems like the Guard may have a new home in Wakefield. Schools at the Armory may happen after all -- but probably only if KARA brings as much heat to this issue as they have to the living wage.

We'll be there tonight. So will peace activist Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame -- who Community Board 7 has enlisted to attend. Stay tuned. We'll have frequent updates on the blog in the coming days and weeks.

Norwood News Out Now

Peep the new issue of the Norwood News, out on the streets and online now. (We're still working out some issues with the pdf copy and a couple other things, but for the most part, it's good to go.)

Here's a quick preview:

Kingsbridge Armory activists say it's not too much to ask retailers who set up shop in the soon to be renovated facility to pay their workers a living wage, or $10 an hour.

Part One of our annual School Preview. Part two (high schools and private schools) will be in our next issue, which comes out Nov. 1.

A new environmentally-friendly affordable housing development was unveiled on Webster Avenue here in the Bronx on Monday. Somehow movie stars Edward Norton and Owen Wilson involved.

An update from the trenches of the war against graffiti here in the northwest Bronx.

Editorial: Why we need to be actively protecting our neighborhoods from unwanted developments.

Check out all these stories and more on our Web site.

[Quick congratulations to James Fergusson, the editor of the Mount Hope Monitor. This exciting new paper received some great news today and will now be bringing more stories and information to the news-deprived Mount Hope area (Community Board 5) and on a more consistent basis. Look for more updates from James here on the blog. Cheers, mate!]

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