[NYguy]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion...0q4gsOf9A6G2YL

Will pols kill another Bronx revival?

By Michael Benjamin
August 26, 2012

The Bronx is about to get another chance to lift the curse of the Kingsbridge Armory, with two new proposals to develop the site. But it will have to overcome stiff opposition by the local soviets that have thwarted commercial enterprise at the “people’s armory” for years. Only two years ago, recall, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz’s insistence on a special minimum wage scuttled a plan for the armory by the Related Companies that promised 2,200 jobs........Fortunately, both Mayor Bloomberg and Diaz now appear determined to check off the armory as done on their “to-do” lists. And two promising proposals have emerged.

The first is the Kingsbridge National Ice Center — a plan for a world-class ice-hockey and skating-sports facility featuring nine rinks and an ice-sports-themed middle school. The second is an indoor Times Square-style commercial venture anchored by small retailers, a cineplex and a Crunch Gym. Either would mark a huge step forward for the borough. Yet, predictably, the Luddites are already vowing to fight any possible good news. Insiders, for instance, think the ice center will get the nod. If so, critics will charge that Bloomberg and Diaz greased the skids in favor of NHL legend Mark Messier and Olympic champion Sarah Hughes, who are behind the project.

The second bid, for the commercial center, comes from immigrant real-estate entrepreneur Young Woo — who certainly has the imagination and financial chops to make it a success. Like his planned Pier 57 redo, Young Woo’s Armory concept is an artsy open-air market with rental space for artists and small businesses. The plan revolves around a “zocalo,” or town square — a dynamic reflection of its host community. Two years ago, Forbes magazine described Young Woo as having a feel for the pulse of New York. The same can be said of his armory plan, which intends to capture the frenetic energy of The Bronx and transplant it indoors.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/2012...sbridge-armory
Bronx Borough President Backs Ice Rink Plan for Kingsbridge Armory





By Patrick Wall
August 23, 2012

Three years after helping defeat a plan to redevelop the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory over wage concerns, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. declared his support Thursday for a new proposal that would transform the historic edifice into one of the world’s largest ice sports centers.

Key to his support is a promise by the developers that all of the center’s workers will earn $10 an hour with benefits, a so-called living wage, which the developer who proposed a mall for the site in 2009 refused to guarantee, leading the City Council to kill that plan.

In backing the nine-rink ice center, Diaz has rejected the other major proposal for the site — a mixed-use complex with a marketplace, food court, cineplex, gym, rock-climbing wall and business incubator. Young Woo and Associates, the developer of that plan, promised that some workers would earn a living wage, but not all. Diaz and others also worried that a project with many food and retail options would swipe customers from local merchants. The proposed $250 million ice center, on the other hand, would not compete with local merchants, and would offer a hockey program for at-risk youth, hire local workers and provide 50,000 square-feet of space for community groups, Diaz said.

Former New York Rangers player Mark Messier is a partner in the plan for the Kingsbridge National Ice Center.