Metro

Mike’s call to armory

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday vowed to veto an overwhelming City Council vote killing a plan to convert the Bronx’s Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping mall, saying the loss of the 1,200 jobs it would have created in the current economy was “really unfortunate.”

The measure was rejected Monday after months of opposition from labor unions and others who wanted every retailer signing a lease there to be required to pay a “living wage” of $10 an hour, plus benefits, when the minimum wage is $7.25.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., triumphantly crowed after the vote that no jobs were better than low-paying ones.

“We here maintain that notion that any job is better than no job no longer applies,” he said.

“What happened . . . at the City Council is historic. . . . It is huge in that for the very first time in a long time, we’ve seen how the interests of the people have prevailed over corporate America and boy, does that feel good!”

At a speech last night in The Bronx, Gov. Paterson decried double-digit unemployment in the borough, likening it to a “depression” — but still backed the council vote.

“When the entire [Bronx] delegation feels that way, I would respect that they must know something,” he said.

The governor added the project was criticized for spending more money “on commercial opportunities and not addressing the issue of disaffected youth.”

Bloomberg, at the Copenhagen climate-change summit, accused council members who smacked down the project 45-1 of acting for parochial reasons, meaning their own political concerns.

He added, “We will veto it. It is the right project for The Bronx.”

There are clearly enough votes to override a veto.

Still, Bloomberg was insistent, saying, “This would generate a lot of jobs 1,000 construction jobs, 1,200 permanent jobs.

“To turn down this project at a time when we really need those jobs is really unfortunate.”

The death of the armory revamp was an unusual defeat of a development plan for Bloomberg, whose proposals have generally been pushed forward by the council under Speaker Christine Quinn.

Bloomberg insisted the vote “would have turned out differently” if the legislator representing the area wasn’t absent. Councilwoman Maria Baez is battling a serious illness and has been absent for weeks.

The mall was supposed to be developed by Related Companies, which worked on other projects around the city and alongside the Bloomberg administration.

The opposition was led in large part by the retail workers union and its head, Stuart Appelbaum.

Additional reporting by Carl Campanile

david.seifman@nypost.com