The Bronx is about to get another chance to lift the curse of the Kingsbridge Armory, with two new proposals to develop the site.
But it will have to overcome stiff opposition by the local soviets that have thwarted commercial enterprise at the “people’s armory” for years.
Only two years ago, recall, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz’s insistence on a special minimum wage scuttled a plan for the armory by the Related Companies that promised 2,200 jobs.
But The Bronx never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
Some just resist change. Others — like the local activists who’ve been trained in the spirit of leftist organizer Saul Alinsky — don’t even need an excuse.
Then there are shakedown artists who’ll demand the usual bribe: the “community benefits agreement,” in the form, perhaps, of another blanket “living wage” minimum or funding for a school or preferences for locals. They’ll cite bogus “concerns” until the developer caves — and then brag of their big victory.
Unless, of course, the developers walk, as Related did — and The Bronx loses out yet again.
Bronx residents can’t afford to let that happen this time. Fortunately, both Mayor Bloomberg and Diaz now appear determined to check off the armory as done on their “to-do” lists. And two promising proposals have emerged.
The first is the Kingsbridge National Ice Center — a plan for a world-class ice-hockey and skating-sports facility featuring nine rinks and an ice-sports-themed middle school. The second is an indoor Times Square-style commercial venture anchored by small retailers, a cineplex and a Crunch Gym.
Either would mark a huge step forward for the borough.
Yet, predictably, the Luddites are already vowing to fight any possible good news.
Insiders, for instance, think the ice center will get the nod. If so, critics will charge that Bloomberg and Diaz greased the skids in favor of NHL legend Mark Messier and Olympic champion Sarah Hughes, who are behind the project.
They’ll revive the ESPN E60 report on the dangers of “carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide or ultrafine particles” from poorly maintained Zambonis.
They’ll scaremonger over the idea of nine ice rinks using ammonia-based refrigeration systems. They’ll raise faux safety concerns by citing an ice-house in Florida that exploded when ammonia gas leaked.
Such warnings may sound laughable in a borough that already suffers the highest childhood-asthma and COPD rates in the city. But lamer notions have killed even more exciting plans in New York.
Yet the National Ice Center may represent just the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that will bring the borough positive attention, not to mention 3 million visitors annually.
The second bid, for the commercial center, comes from immigrant real-estate entrepreneur Young Woo — who certainly has the imagination and financial chops to make it a success. Like his planned Pier 57 redo, Young Woo’s Armory concept is an artsy open-air market with rental space for artists and small businesses. The plan revolves around a “zocalo,” or town square — a dynamic reflection of its host community.
Two years ago, Forbes magazine described Young Woo as having a feel for the pulse of New York. The same can be said of his armory plan, which intends to capture the frenetic energy of The Bronx and transplant it indoors.
Alas, that positive, caged excitement is exactly what some Bronx leaders don’t want. Like survivors of some terrible violence, some of the old-timers wrongly believe that embracing something new means betraying those who didn’t survive the trauma of arson, drugs and economic dislocation that long wracked Bronx neighborhoods.
But The Bronx will never turn the economic corner until more of its people let go of the familiar and embrace a bold future.
The hope is that the shakedown attempts, scare tactics and fear of change won’t be enough to “ice” either plan.
Bronxites must stand up to the activists and extortionists. We must cease picking at old psychic wounds and embrace an unfamiliar, but hopeful, future.
Too much is riding on redeveloping the Kingsbridge Armory, changing The Bronx’s trajectory and making it a destination point for the greater community. Bloomberg and Diaz must be allowed to build something — finally — to attract new life and offer hope to those who live here.