COALITION REJECTS BLOOMBERG PROPOSAL AT KINGSBRIDGE ARMORY

Calls On City Council to Do the Right Thing by Voting Down Publicly Subsidized Development if Living Wage Jobs and Other Community Benefits are Not Included

The Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance today rejected the Bloomberg Administration's 11th hour proposal to gain Council approval for the redevelopment of the Armory because it does not require employers to pay a living wage or include an enforceable Community Benefits Agreement with first source local hiring, protection of the right of retail workers to join a union without fear or intimidation, community and recreation space, and the exclusion of a supermarket or a big box grocery store.

"All Bloomberg is offering is a 'Bah Humbug' and a lump of coal," said KARA's Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter after meeting with members of the Bronx City Council delegation. "This is a bad deal for the Bronx and all New Yorkers and we are calling on the Council to vote it down. The so-called living wage fund that the Administration is proposing is nothing but a subsidized poverty fund. It doesn't mandate employers to pay living wages.Low wage workers are already on food stamps, Medicaid, and Section 8. We don't need to subsidize poverty we need a mandatory living wage paid by employers!"

"Bronx workers need a living wage. But Mike Bloomberg, the richest man in New York, feels $10 an hour is too much to pay working people. His proposals would condemn them to a life of poverty wages and reliance on charity. Workers in the Bronx need jobs with living wages and benefits," said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and a co-convener of KARA.

A living wage in New York City is at least $10 an hour plus benefits or $11.50 an hour without benefits.

The New York City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises is scheduled to vote on Friday, December 11, on Related's application to develop the historic Armory. The full Council is scheduled to vote on the project afterwards.

The Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) is a growing coalition of community groups, churches and unions that seek high road, equitable development for the Kingsbridge Armory. The Alliance wants the redevelopment to meet the community's needs for living wage jobs, community space, recreational facilities and schools. City, state and federal officials have endorsed KARA. Visit www.ourarmory.org

Religious denominations are sending in letters of support for KARA's demands to the City Council. These letters--written by such religious leaders as the Episcopal Bishop of New York and the United Hebrew Trades--express what a moral imperative living wages are, and urge the City Council to only approve of the redevelopment project if a Community Benefits Agreement is in place. To read the letters, click here.

What: After the final vote on the future of the Kingsbridge Armory, Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), and the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) will weigh-in on the City Council’s decision. The coalition is demanding that the City Council reject the rezoning and sale of the Kingsbridge Armory until the developer, The Related Companies, has signed a binding Community Benefits Agreement that includes living wage jobs, first source local hiring, protection of the right of retail workers to join a union without fear or intimidation, community and recreation space, and the exclusion of a supermarket or a big box grocery store.

Who: Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union President Stuart Appelbaum, and the KARA coalition, representing the Northwest Bronx community, clergy, small business and labor.

When: Wednesday, December 9, 3:00 pm

Where: New York City Hall