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Editorial
It is welcome news that elected and city officials seem to finally be on the same page with community residents with regard to making sure that public schools are included in any plans to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory. As we report in this issue, a closed-door meeting of about 30 officials at the Bronx Overall Development Corporation focused mainly on schools. But we are concerned that the public will continue to be locked out of the deliberation process. Though the armory was vacated by the National Guard almost a decade ago, there has not been a single public meeting held by any elected official or government agency to discuss the fate of this massive facility, which will play a giant role in the neighborhood's future. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion promised around the time of his inauguration to form a Kingsbridge Armory Task Force. But it never materialized. That's too bad, because there is much to discuss. Clearly, retail stores will be part of the equation, especially since there is now a consensus that schools will work best on the perimeter of the existing facility. But what's the right amount of retail development? And what type of stores does the neighborhood most need? And what type of retail will least harm the thriving Kingsbridge Road commercial district? What about traffic? Can bustling Jerome Avenue and Kingsbridge Road handle the kind of car and truck traffic a development of this size will attract? If not, what can be done about this? Many of these are questions that local residents will ask and can help answer. And there are surely other questions and issues community residents will come up with that can only sharpen and strengthen the Request for Proposals (RFP) the city plans to issue this fall. The borough president and city's Economic Development Corporation keep promising a public meeting of "stakeholders" on this issue, but none has been scheduled. Time is running out. That RFP will set priorities for the redevelopment of the largest vacant public facility in the Bronx. This community cannot afford for the project to fail. Officials may think they are expediting the process by excluding the public, but if community residents and business owners -- the largest stakeholders -- are not meaningfully included, the only thing that will be expedited is bad city planning. Pet Owners' Safety Concerns Nelson's letter clearly touched a nerve and raised a serious concern that seems to be shared by many local residents. We don't have the magic bullet to solve this problem, but more vigorous enforcement of the leash law is probably in order. Maybe concerned pet owners should consider organizing a community meeting to discuss solutions to the problem and maybe invite the 52nd Precinct and the Parks Enforcement Patrol to attend. We'd be happy to publicize it if they do.
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