NEW YORK—The Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx is the topic for discussion again as Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. submitted a community benefits agreement to the selected developer of the Armory, Related Companies.
The Armory is a 575, 000 square-foot building once used by the National Guard. It was vacated in 1996 and two years later the City of New York took ownership of the land. The development of the Armory has been a topic of debate ever since.
Related Companies is set to develop the Armory but Diaz and other organizations such as the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA), would like the developer to follow the guidelines they outlined in the community benefits agreement. The suggestions include making room for recreational space, local hiring, living wage jobs, the ability for retail workers to unionize, and exclude building a big box grocery store.
“We have laid out a strong community benefits agreement, and we want to work with The Related Companies to make this project a reality. I look forward to sitting down with the developer in the coming days to discuss this document and the principles contained within it,” said Diaz in a news release.
