Kingsbridge Armory Public Workshop #3
By Robert Press
Saturday March 18th was the third of four Public Workshops to determine what the Kingsbridge Armory would look like. It was a moment of Deja vu for me however having been at this point with the shops at the Armory in 2008 proposed by then Mayor Michael Bloomberg. That proposed use of the Kingsbridge Armory would be shot down by new Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. who reopened the process finally to come up with the Kingsbridge National Ice Center at the Kingsbridge Armory in 2013.
Unfortunately after eight years of waiting with only less than one-half of the funding needed, and feuding partners, the KNIC proposal was killed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio before he left office. Thus a once empty Kingsbridge Armory was thrust upon all but one of its original elected officials who was redistricted to the street East of the armory. A new Mayor, Bronx Borough President, Congressman, State Senator, Assemblyman, and Councilwoman have started from square one to decide what will be going into a thirty year vacant Kingsbridge Armory. Only State Senator Gustavo Rivera remained who was able to secure one-hundred million dollars in state funding for the armory remained, and he said “This is not going to be a simple process, it is going to be difficult.
This time there were union members mostly in the two rooms at Lehman College rather than residents who lived in the area in the audience. The same chant was heard this time that was heard other times, ‘Whose Armory, Our Armory’. Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez along with Deputy Bronx Borough President Janet Peguero, State Senator Robert Jackson, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, and Dave Greg of the NYCEDC spoke to the crowd first then went into the overflow room to repeat what they said in room one.
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