The Kingsbridge Armory might end up as one of the city’s largest indoor recreational spaces, Mayor Bloomberg indicated yesterday.
In his State of the City speech, the mayor said the city “has heard from a variety of interested parties” who might be interested in bidding on the long-vacant Bronx property, “including those who want to develop it into recreational space.”
Developers have already proposed a minor-league hockey rink and a bicycle-racing facility at the site.
“There are others out there as well,” said one source, who declined to provide further details.
The armory, empty since 1996, was on the verge of becoming a retail mall until advocates pushing a “living wage” requirement led the administration to scuttle the project in late 2009.
There is no living-wage requirement — $10 an hour plus $1.50 in benefits — in the city’s new request for proposals issued yesterday.
While he opposes the living-wage bill now before the City Council, the mayor, in his State of the City speech, endorsed Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s proposal for an increase in the minimum wage, which is now $7.25 an hour.
Bloomberg didn’t provide any numbers, other than calling for a “responsible raise.”
Other initiatives announced yesterday by the mayor include:
* The sale of three city buildings to generate $100 million.
* A crackdown on bicycle-deliverymen who fail to display business ID cards or wear proper safety equipment.
* Adding lawyers to the Commission to Combat Police Corruption.