Point of view: Kingsbridge Armory a Riverdale issue

By Ron D. Wegsman

On Wednesday, Dec. 9, the City Council will decide whether to approve a deal to turn the Kingsbridge Armory into a publicly subsidized shopping mall.

For Riverdalians who rarely venture east of Broadway, this may seem like a far-away issue. But it will affect us, whether we pay attention to it or not, so we would be well-advised to pay attention.

If the deal goes through as designed, it would mean that, once again, our taxes will be used to subsidize the profits of a major corporation. Under the deal, the city would sell the Armory, a landmark worth some $20 million, to the developer, The Related Companies, for only $5 million. At the same time, Related would receive $60 million in tax breaks.

The Armory is an important part of the heritage of the west Bronx. Located on the southern edge of the educational park that includes the Bronx High School of Science and Lehman College, the Armory served for over 80 years as the headquarters of the National Guard’s Eighth Coastal Artillery Regiment. As recently as the first Gulf War in 1990-91, the Armory was a staging area for reserve soldiers from our region deploying to Iraq. In 1996, with the National Guard facing cutbacks, the Armory was given to the city.

For the past 13 years, local residents, supported by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, have been envisioning how the Armory could be used to benefit their community. They have responded to the proposed deal with Related by insisting that it include a community benefits agreement obligating retailers in the mall to pay a “living wage” – that is, at least $10 per hour with health insurance. Related is refusing to agree to this.

Given the massive public subsidies that Related is to receive, the demand for a “living wage” – which would amount to an annual salary of slightly over $20,000 for a full-time job – is eminently reasonable. After all, why is the public giving money to a private corporation unless it will create a public benefit?

Supporters of the project, most prominent among them Mayor Michael Bloomberg, argue that the project will create jobs, and that minimumwage jobs are better than no jobs. This argument reflects a communal inferiority complex — a feeling that we are beggars and therefore can’t be choosers. It seems many of our political leaders don’t realize that the desperate 70s and 80s are thankfully behind us. What the Bronx needs today is not any jobs, but good jobs.

Contrary to what many of us may believe, most retail workers in New York City are adults, not teenagers, and 30 percent of retail workers are their family’s sole provider. If the Armory project creates minimum-wage jobs, we will have to continue subsidizing not only the developer but also employees in the mall, who will need public assistance to supplement a wage that is only slightly above the poverty line for a family of two. That’s not a good deal for either Kingsbridge or Riverdale.

Unlike the Target mall in Marble Hill, which stands on land that was empty for decades, the Kingsbridge Armory is located in the midst of a densely populated area with many retail stores that generate lively foot traffic. A project enjoying both public subsidies and the economies of scale and attractiveness of a mall, if allowed to pay minimum wage, would have an unfair advantage over these stores. The result could be not only lower paying jobs, but also less walking and more vehicular traffic in a community that is already suffering from high rates of asthma and obesity.

The anchor of the neighborhood today is a Morton Williams supermarket, across the street from the Armory, that pays union wages. The supermarket’s employees fear, justifiably, that a subsidized mall will threaten their jobs. The loss of this supermarket, which has been serving the neighborhood for decades, would be a severe blow to the community.

Especially in today’s economy, lower paying jobs in Kingsbridge would create downward pressure on wages throughout the area. The hill dividing Kingsbridge from Riverdale will not block the ill effects — on jobs, air quality and neighborhood cohesion — of a badly conceived project that does not serve the public interest.

Almost all the members of the Bronx delegation to the City Council, along with Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., recognize these facts and say they will support the project only if it is accompanied by an enforceable community benefits agreement that includes a living-wage provision. Sadly, our own councilman, Oliver Koppell, is fudging. He told The Riverdale Press that he would not vote for the project without a community benefits agreement, but he did not say what that agreement would have to include. In private meetings, he has indicated a lack of support for the community’s concerns.

The Kingsbridge Armory is a Riverdale issue. Our tax money and the quality of our lives are at stake. We need to contact Mr. Koppell and call on him not to vote for the project as currently conceived, unless it is accompanied by an enforceable community benefits agreement that includes a living-wage provision.

Ron D. Wegsman grew up in Kingsbridge and now lives in Riverdale.

This is part of the December 3, 2009 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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