BRONX COULD FINALLY GET PUBLIC ICE RINK NEXT MONTH
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The Bronx could finally be getting the ice skating rink that Mayor Bloomberg promised the borough last January - but without formal community input. Local leaders are upset they won’t get to vet how the facility is run.
“The agency has decided to circumvent the public process,” said Bob Bender, Community Board 8 parks committee chairman. “It concerns me greatly.”
NATIONAL CYCLING ASSOCIATION REVEALS ARMORY VELODROME PLAN
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The National Cycling Association unveiled its plan on Thursday to build a world-class velodrome and BMX park in the Bronx’s long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory.
CEO Jack Simes of NCA revealed that the group hopes to rent the landmark building from the city for eight weeks next spring to host a demonstration project, including youth programs and a six-day bicycle race.
BORO PREZ THREATENS TO SUE BLOOMBERG ADMIN OVER BASE
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is threatening to sue the Bloomberg administration over the fate of a Bronx military base.
BRONX PARENTS PUSH FOR KINGSBRIDGE ARMORY SCHOOLS
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Bronx parents who want books, not bombs at the Kingsbridge Armory are on pins and needles Wednesday.
They packed a public hearing last week to beg the Bloomberg administration to boot National and state Guard units from the armory annex on W. 195th St. in favor of building new schools there.
But the administration is on the verge of turning the parents down, with a decision expected Thursday on the fate of a proposed new home for the Guard.
KINGSBRIDGE ARMORY COULD BECOME MEGACHURCH, ICE HOCKEY ARENA
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Hockey players, chefs and a televangelist could vie for space at the Bronx’s long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will outline the ideas for the site in a 300-page report this week and call on the Bloomberg administration to pick the best plan.
HISTORIC BRONX ARMORY COULD BECOME CYCLING PALACE
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The Bronx’s long-vacant, hotly disputed Kingsbridge Armory could become a massive cycling palace, housing a velodrome and a BMX course.
A proposal submitted this spring to the borough president’s task force calls for the rundown, fortresslike building to host international racing events and free programs for kids. The armory’s large 600-by-300-foot drill floor makes it especially appealing, said would-be developer Michael Green, former president of the Century Road Club Association.
BRONX RESIDENTS RALLY AGAINST PROPOSED FDNY CLOSINGS
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Marty Rogers was at the 1977 World Series game where Howard Cosell famously announced the Bronx was burning. He walked home from Yankee Stadium past a flaming school building and firefighters struggling to douse the blaze.
The charred tenements and incessant sirens of the 1970s are long gone, but Rogers fears they could return if Mayor Bloomberg shutters Engine 60 on E. 143rd St. at Third Ave. in Mott Haven.
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The Bronx has become the battleground in the brawl over a City Council bill that would force city-subsidized developers to pay their workers more than the minimum wage.
Both supporters and opponents of the Living Wage bill cited Bronx construction projects and rehashed Boogie Down development fights during a standing-room-only hearing last Thursday at City Hall.
CITY COUNCIL SLAMS BLOOMBERG FOR NOT SUPPORTING ‘LIVING WAGE’ BILL
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
City Council members skewered the Bloomberg administration Thursday for opposing a bill that would mandate a “living wage” for workers in city-subsidized developments.
BLOOMBERG CAMP SLAMS ‘LIVING WAGE’ BILL
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
A controversial City Council bill that would force companies in city-subsidized developments to pay their workers more than minimum wage would ruin projects in the Bronx, the Bloomberg administration insists.
