Editorial

Armory Meeting Not Enough
As we wrote in our last issue, the meeting the borough president will hold on Nov. 19 on the Kingsbridge Armory is inadequate to the task at hand. One problem is that few people are likely to show up, since it is scheduled for 9 a.m. on a weekday. But the thing that bothers us the most is that this will be the only public meeting to discuss the fate of the armory before the city drafts its requests for proposal, which will determine the parameters of the larger redevelopment project in our area in decades. So, even if only a few people show up on Nov. 19, their participation will be the entire extent of the community input for this project!

The borough president and the city seem to be sending local residents a message: we don't want your input. How else should we interpret the scheduling of a morning hearing so far from the armory?

There is still time to reschedule this hearing for an evening at a location community residents would find easier to get to. Ideally, there would be a series of hearings to discuss the complicated issues involved, not the least of which is: what kind of facility should the new armory be? Should it be a regional facility that draws people from outside the neighborhood or should it be primarily designed for community use?

City officials now agree that schools should be a part of the development mix. But that only accounts for the space on the perimeter of the armory. 

What type of retail, recreation, and entertainment components would be most successful in the armory and have the most complementary effect on the bustling neighborhood outside the armory? 

These questions will clearly not be sufficiently addressed in a poorly attended two-hour hearing.

Again, we urge the borough president to reschedule this meeting or to have another one (or even two) at a neighborhood venue near the armory.

Another Bad Idea Visits The Bronx
Why is it that the city never tries out pilot programs that increase services in the Bronx?

That question comes to mind as the city plans to drastically cut the Meals on Wheels program for the borough's senior citizens. Our area, particularly Bedford Park, has a large population of senior citizens, many of whom are dependent on the program.

We understand that the city is in difficult financial straits but is a critical program for homebound seniors really the best place to experiment?

As we report in this issue, local Meals on Wheels providers -- all local nonprofits with deep roots in the community -- warn that a critical connection with the outside world, the delivery person, will be lost. And frozen food is clearly less nutritious than the hot meals the seniors are used to. 

Though this is being called a pilot program, we wonder if the old program will ever be restored. Reduced services are rarely returned to their previous levels. 

There will be a hearing at the Bronx County Courthouse on Nov. 25 to discuss this issue. We urge all those concerned about this issue, and our community's seniors, to attend.

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