The City Council voted nearly unanimously on Monday to defeat a developer’s proposal, backed  strongly by Mayor Bloomberg, to turn the Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping mall.

The vote was 45 to 1. Only Helen Sears of Queens dissented. Council members said it was the first time they had defeated an economic project backed by the Bloomberg administration.

Though they tried not to use the word victory, as the Armory will likely remain vacant now for at least a few more years, it was the desired outcome of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA), a coalition of Bronx community groups organized by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (the Coalition) and the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). The vote was also celebrated by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and the borough’s delegation to the City Council, which took up their cause.

That cause was ensuring that workers employed by retailers at the mall paid their employees a living wage, $10 an hour with benefits, or $11.50 without benefits.

The mayor, developer and building trade union groups said the defeat set a dangerous precedent that would cost the Bronx jobs and could deter developers from coming into the borough in the future.

Though the Armory drew citywide attention in recent months because of the high-stakes negotiations, it has been a top item on the local civic agenda since 1993 when the National Guard vacated the landmark facility and handed the keys over to the city. 

That year, District 10 school officials floated the idea of turning the landmark into a school complex to help relieve chronic overcrowding in the area. A few years later, the Coalition organized local residents and worked together with architects at the Pratt Institute to come up with a blueprint heavy on community uses, like schools, a movie theatre, restaurants, sports facilities and a greenmarket. Following years of community meetings and rallies, the city eventually replaced the roof and pushed plans by its chosen developers. But those plans, including the most recent by the Related Companies, called for turning the building into a mega shopping mall.

In this context, the living wage requirement became the bare minimum local activists and community and religious leaders were willing to accept – a clear line in the sand.

Taxpayer Subsidies

Because Related was receiving an estimated $50 million in city and state tax breaks, as well as a highly discounted purchase price of $5 million (it cost $30 million just to replace the roof), KARA members and many elected officials said that Related had a special responsibility to make sure that retailers paid wages that could support workers and their families. In Los Angeles, Related has complied with a local law requiring the living wage.

Diaz, whose firm stance on the living wage issue was a sharp break from his pro-developer predecessor, Adolfo Carrion, Jr., said private companies can pay what they want, but not when they’re receiving taxpayer money. “If you want to create a mall on your own dime, [then go ahead and pay what you want],” he said. “If you want a subsidy, then the community deserves a subsidy as well.”

Bloomberg, who left for the international climate talks in Copenhagen on the day of the vote, did not agree.

“From early in the planning process, we made clear we would never add mandatory wage requirements which would make the project unviable, and that was a line we were never going to cross,” he said in a statement. “It’s not the role of the public sector. As a result of today’s vote, we can say one thing for sure: there will be no wages paid at all at the Kingsbridge Armory for the foreseeable future.”

In a statement, Related spokesperson Joanna Rose said, “This was never about the money involved, but about outside groups imposing artificial wage demands that do not exist anywhere else in New York City or New York State that were then adopted by the Bronx Borough President and Bronx Council delegation without any independent critical analysis.”

It was a major defeat for the mayor as he enters his third term. At the same time, many hoped it would set a citywide tone for development proposals going forward.

“This is not just about the Kingsbridge Armory,” said Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter, a Fordham Hill resident and a leader in the Coalition and KARA. “It’s about every development in every borough in New York City.”

Referring to legislation being proposed by Bronx Council Members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma as a result of the living wage campaign at the Armory, Pilgrim-Hunter added that the Council’s overwhelming vote “gives us momentum to push for a living wage ordinance for New York City,”

RWDSU head Stuart Appelbaum went even further in his remarks on the City Hall steps. “The Bronx is leading the way for all of New York and the entire country [in the] creation of middle class, retail jobs,” he said.

Meanwhile, the mayor, Related and representatives for building and construction trade groups said it was the Bronx that was the biggest loser in this battle. “Retailers will continue to operate elsewhere in New York City, the suburbs and neighboring states where no such mandates exist and residents of the Bronx will have to continue to have to travel to meet their shopping needs,” Rose said.

“[Monday’s] vote by the New York City Council on the Kingsbridge Armory is simply bad public policy,” said Louis J. Coletti, president and CEO of the Building Trades Employers Association, in a statement. “Not developing the Armory will only extend the economic and jobs crisis in New York City, especially in the Bronx. 
 
Council vs. the Mayor

Some Council members said the vote reset the balance of power in the Council.

“It’s about time the Council stood up to the mayor,” said Council Member Tony Avella, who heads the Council’s Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee. “It’s a great day for democracy. We’re an equal partner with the mayor. [This sets] a precedent for the future.”

In the last week, negotiations with the administration centered on whether, instead of requiring a living wage (which Related said would make it impossible to lure retailers), a fund to subsidize salaries could be created from the $5 million purchase price and portions of the rental income from some of the community space at the Armory.

Bronx Council members were reportedly weighing the deal over the weekend, but, according to Rivera, that possible solution fell apart when the city’s top lawyer, the corporation counsel, advised that such an arrangement could violate the state Constitution.

That decision removed the only hook, which didn’t have KARA’s support, for any potentially sympathetic Bronx Council members to hang their hat on.

The issue before the Council technically had nothing to do with the wage issue. It was essentially a change in zoning for the Armory, which would allow its use as a mall, but it would have also transferred the deed to the building over to Related.

Ultimately, Rivera, who has been a leader in the Council on this and has called Related’s plan “an economic exploitation project,” and Council Speaker Christine Quinn, cited legitimate (but not project-killing) traffic and health issues as the main reason for their decision to reject the plan. They cited a study commissioned by KARA which found the project would drastically increase truck and car traffic in the area.

That didn’t stop Council members from framing the vote as historic.

“Today we honor the dream that people who work hard will be able to provide for their families,” said Letitia James of Brooklyn. She also congratulated the Bronx delegation for “sticking together,” which other delegations usually honor with their support.

The mayor can veto the Council’s action anytime before Dec. 21, which he said on Tuesday was his plan. But he would need one-third of Council members to change their minds, which Quinn and other Council leaders said was highly unlikely.

Meanwhile, it’s back to the drawing board on the Armory. To move ahead, the city will have to draft a new Request for Proposals (RFP). The last one was issued in October 2006, so even if another one were issued in 2010, it could take another three years to get to the Council again.

KARA leaders say they now have the opportunity to push once again for their grander vision. Pilgrim-Hunter calls it the Armory Center, “where culture, commerce and education can come together.”

“There’s nothing wrong with retail, but it should not be the whole project,” she said.