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Editorial Armory Progress Spelled R-F-P If you've been following the depressing saga of the Kingsbridge Armory's redevelopment over the last decade and attended last week's hearing at Lehman College, maybe you were thinking to yourself, "I'm glad they all agree, but what the heck took them so long?" In fact, it's been several months since city officials and local residents have been on the same page about what belongs in the landmark on Kingsbridge Road when it is finally redeveloped. It's just that a tiresome intramural political spat gummed up the works for quite a while. We won't go over all that again here in the hope that it's all behind us. Despite all the good feelings at the hearing, the only concrete sign of progress toward redevelopment will be when the city finally issues the request for proposals (RFP) it has been promising since last fall. Every elected official at the hearing should pressure the city's Economic Development Corporation and the Bloomberg administration to issue the RFP as soon as possible. We're glad everyone's getting along, but now let's get something done! Bronx Week Upon Us On June 27, for the third consecutive year, the Bronx Week Parade will take place on Mosholu Parkway. In our next issue we will publish a comprehensive listing of Bronx Week events. But we especially encourage all our readers to take part in the parade. It's a way to show off community pride and to demonstrate to parade organizers that, in picking Mosholu Parkway for this event, they've made the right decision. So, more details in the next issue, but mark your calendars in the meantime! Another View "Within a month of the trees going in, I noticed there were improvements going on all along the block," said Paul Kerzner, president of the Greater Ridgewood Corporation in a Daily News report. "People were pointing the brick on their homes. They were putting new sidewalks in, painting their gates, putting in new front doors and windows." According to Kerzner, when homeowners saw the city was investing in their block by planting trees, they decided to make their own improvements. "I inventoried that block over a six-month period," he said. "For every dollar that the city put in for the trees, they got back $10 in capital improvements." As a result of this experience, Kerzner has included a $200,000 request to fund 4,800 more trees in his community in a Congressional grant to be provided by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. -- Reprinted from the Urban Outdoors Bulletin
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