Debate continues on who should end up with Armory

The Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition is reviving its campaign to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory as ideas begin to pour in on redevelopment of the 575,000-square-foot landmarked building on Jerome Avenue.

For the third time in 20 years, the New York City Economic Development Corp. — the armory’s owner — is starting the planning process from scratch to determine the future of the historic building. A judge’s ruling last fall struck the final blow to the $350 million project that would have turned it into the world’s largest ice hockey center and workspace for community nonprofits.

The clergy coalition was one of several dozen organizations in 2013 that signed a community benefits agreement securing living wage jobs, community space and funding for local small businesses as part of the now defunct plan to transform the armory into a sports center.

“When they said they would terminate the agreement and reopen the process, that was pretty devastating to hear,” said Sandra Lobo, the clergy coalition’s executive director. “The city let a decade go by without moving this process forward.”

The armory occupies almost five acres in a burgeoning commercial corridor of northwest Bronx. It was built in 1917 and was an active military facility during World War II. The building was decommissioned in the 1990s and turned back over to the city, which has used it sparingly ever since.

It became the largest storm relief site in the Bronx after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and was converted into a temporary food distribution center during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020.

Yet a permanent redevelopment plan has remained elusive.

Following a six-month public engagement period, the EDC — a nonprofit corporation controlled by the mayor, borough presidents, and city council speaker — will again seek proposals for redevelopment of the armory.

“We’re in a critical moment right now,” said clergy coalition organizer Juan Nuñez. “We’ve been organizing around this for decades, and we want to make sure the EDC is transparent. We really want the community to be a part of the entire process from construction all the way through. We don’t want any under the table deals.”

Nuñez is eager to find out if the EDC will consider plans to both lease and purchase the Kingsbridge Armory as it did in its last request for proposals in 2012. With community land trusts now codified into law, there could be an opening for the Bronx CLT to acquire the site. The clergy coalition included the idea as part of their renewed statement of values and principles for the armory campaign this year.

“One of the things that is different this time from the last time is (the clergy coalition) has collective land ownership as part of its values now,” Nuñez said. “We started the work as soon as we heard what happened in December. Right now we’re getting as many people involved as possible.”