Reported Deal for Schools Near Armory Fuels Debate

By HANNAN ADELY

Local officials have expressed support for a tentative deal with Mayor Rudolph Guliliani that shifts school construction plans from the Kingsbridge Armory to the Kingsbridge area, but some local residents who support building schools in the armory worry that their community leaders may be throwing in the towel too soon.

Giuliani's redevelopment plan for the armory calls for the creation of a large entertainment, sports and retail complex, but no schools. However, the mayor reportedly agreed to identify two sites in the Kingsbridge area to build schools in meetings and conversations with local Councilmen Adolfo Carrion and Jose Rivera.

Support for alternative plan
Although many Bronx officials were supportive of plans to construct schools in the armory, it seems they are accepting the mayor's offer as a workable alternative. "We're not saying that a school must be there [in the armory], but there must be schools in the area," said Carrion at a legislative breakfast organized by Community School Board 10 on Feb. 2. "I met with the mayor on Tuesday. Either we get school space in the armory or in the neighborhood."

School District 10 Superintendent Irma Zardoya said she supports using the armory for schools, which the district first proposed in 1993 when John Rehill was superintendent. "It [the armory] is in a gigantic space right in the middle of overcrowding." But she added, "I would also be willing to look at sites in the community."

And at a Community Board 7 meeting on Feb. 15, the board's chair, Nora Feury, and District Manager Rita Kessler expressed support for the mayor's plan. "At least something is being done ... We will approve and agree whatever he proposes," Kessler said.

Kessler indicated she is following the lead of Bronx politicians. "There are elected officials that stood behind his proposal," Kessler said. "They're our elected officials."

In a letter to the mayor, Community Board 7 asked Giuliani to reconsider using armory space for schools, but also wrote, "We enthusiastically welcome your initiative to develop this space. With thorough planning, the armory can be converted into a magnificent community, retail and/or entertainment facility."

Difference of opinion
But some community board members aren't ready to accept the mayor's plan just yet. "If it isn't good for the Bronx, if it isn't good for the children, it isn't good for us," said board member Judy Bonano. "I'll be damned if I lie down and have him [Giuliani] walk all over me."

According to board member Don Bluestone, the board's Zoning/Land Use Committee remains supportive of building schools in the armory.
Commenting on the mayor's plan, Bluestone warned, "We have to be careful. All change doesn't necessarily mean it's good." Bluestone and others fear that traffic might be too much to handle. "We don't want a situation like Co-op City [where you sit in traffic for hours]," he said.

The entire board will get to vote on the mayor's proposal as the first stop in the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, a process that requires review of the project's environmental impact by several levels of city government including the local board, the borough president, the borough board (which consists of the Bronx's City Council delegation and its community board chairs), the City Planning Commission, the City Council and finally the mayor. A "no" vote by the board would not necessarily spell defeat for the proposal. (The board unanimously opposed the siting of a filtration plant in Van Cortlandt Park, as did the borough president and the borough board. But the support of City Planning and the City Council essentially vetoed that opposition.) However, the local board's support coupled with the support of the local councilmembers, would virtually assure the ratification of the mayor's plan.

Space hard to come by
Meanwhile, some residents worry that the opportunity to reclaim vacant city-owned property for educational use in the largest and one of the most overcrowded school districts may be wasted and that locating sites in the vicinity will be difficult to identify. "Who's to say whether the mayor will find these spaces to build on?" said Ronn Jordan, a member of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition's (NWBCCC) Education Committee. "We've toured around the northwest Bronx and there's no physical space."

Members of the NWBCCC argue that it would be cheaper to put schools in the armory than to condemn and purchase occupied land. The group has developed a plan in coordination with the Pratt Institute that calls for three schools, space for community programs and some commercial uses.

Also, the group is working with the Board of Education to obtain Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs), federal funds available to renovate old buildings for school space that would reduce the cost of building schools in the armory by half. (In the last issue, the Norwood News reported that QZABs were used to renovate a neglected Chicago armory for school space.)

Community wants input
What all local parties seem to agree on is that there has been little opportunity for community to participate in the decision-making process. "The point is community input and there isn't any," Kessler said.

Residents complain that they have not even seen the actual plan yet. It was developed by RD Management. At the community board meeting last week, the Department of City Planning staff person assigned to the Bronx wasn't even able to answer questions about plans for the armory because he said he had not been briefed on the matter.

Community Board 7 expressed that it wants more input on the fate of the armory, but some residents who attended the meeting were dismayed that no concrete plans were made to step into a planning role. "They saw that they were bypassed and they just accepted it," said Santiago Milland, a Fordham Bedford resident who supports the creation of schools at the armory.

"There has to be room for compromise," Milland added. "The mayor has to be willing to sit down with us. This is our community."

No concrete agreement
Though officials seem willing to entertain the mayor's proposal to build two schools in the vicinity of the Kingsbridge Armory, there is concern that no concrete agreement exists. The mayor's office did not return calls from the Norwood News.

"The ultimate concern is that the mayor is not going to fulfill his commitment," said Eldin Villafane, a spokesman for Carrion.

In an interview last week, Villafane said that, first and foremost, Carrion wants to promote schools in the armory and that the alleged deal with the mayor is "something we're making sure is being done at the very least, as the very worst-case scenario."

"The fight is not over," Villafane added. "These are just all the options that are being put before the mayor."

Villafane also said Carrion wants the community to be at the decision-making table.

"Essentially, the main concern is Councilman Carrion wants to make sure the community has as much input as possible on this decision," he said.

Ed. note: All articles about the Kingsbridge Armory published in the Norwood News over the last 18 months are available on our Web site: www.bronxmall.com/norwoodnews. Click on "Ongoing Story."

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