True News Trending Issues: Bedford Armory

Opposition mounts to @BilldeBlasio's Bedford Union Armory plan(POLITICONY)

Community Opposition Slows Approval Process ForControversial Crown Heights Armory Project (Gothamist)

Shady Nursing Home Partner Pulls Out of Bedford Armory Deal

Firm involved in shady nursing home deal pulls out of major project(NYP) The company that riled City Hall by hushing up its purchase of a Lower East Side nursing home has pulled out of a major project under pressure from the administration, sources said Wednesday.The Slate Property Group sold its interest in the Bedford-Union Armory in Crown Heights to its collaborator on the project, BFC Partners, just two weeks after Mayor de Blasio said he was taking a “hard look”at its role. Slate and BFC in December were awarded a long-term lease to build 330 units of housing along with recreational and office space on the city-owned site. But the mayor ordered a review after two investigations found that Slate officials had instructed subordinates to keep quiet about the firm’s interest in purchasing the decades-old Rivington House nursing home on the Lower East Side.
The seller, the Allure Group, at the time was still working to get the city to lift deed restrictions governing the use of the property. “Guys, please make sure we do not discuss this deal with anyone on the outside right now,” Slate founder Matt Nussbaum wrote in an e-mail to 10 company officials in May 2015.“The seller is very concerned that the city and [the nursing-home] union will find out that he is in contract to sell at the price that we are buying it, which will directly impact his ability to have the deed restriction removed,” the e-mail continued. “Once he has it removed, we can do whatever we want.” Armory skirmish shows it's time to think bigger in CrownHeights (CrainsNY) Protesters are trying to kill a project backed by community leaders if it is not 100% affordable What makes this scenario different is that the plan to redevelop the Bedford-Union Armory in Crown Heights already has the backing of community leaders and elected officials. And those opposed are not the usual activists bent on beating back any development at any cost. Despite that rare level of support, activists rallied opposition, including from state legislators who have no formal role in the matter, around the notion that the development should be 100% affordable, with none of the market-rate apartments that make it possible to pay for the rec center in the first place. Critics cynically argue that by the time the rec center is completed there won’t be any poor people left in the neighborhood to use it.* ElectedOfficials Op-Ed: Public Owned Bedford Armory Should Be 100% Affordable * Op-Ed:Recreational Facilities at the Bedford Armory will be a Win for Crown Heights By Geoffrey Davis, Frank Johnson, Carlton Screen, Ty Grant and Dario Trujillo * Central Bklyn Lawmakers FOIL City On Bedford Armory Proposal

Now Carmelo Anthony Drops Out of Bedford-Union Armory Development Deal

Carmelo Anthony Drops Support for Bedford-Union Armory Redevelopment | DNAInfo Reports The team behind the controversial Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment has lost its star player Following pressure from local activists, Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony has dropped all affiliation with the Crown Heights project, a representative of the athlete said Wednesday. But the move follows pressure from housing advocates (in the form of a rally, open letter and online petition) calling for the basketball player to drop a plan that “will further exacerbate the gentrification” of Crown Heights, the petition by New York Communities for Change read. NYCC, working with the Crown Heights Tenant Union and others, also called for the removal of developer Slate Property Group from the project for their involvement with the controversial sale and conversion of the Rivington House, a Lower East Side nursing home, into luxury housing. Soon afterwards, Slate backed out of the redevelopment following pressure from the mayor’s office, sources told DNAinfo New York. “Carmelo is our hero,” said Bertha Lewis, the former CEO of NYCC when it was known as ACORN, in a first report about Anthony’s decision in the New York Daily News. Currently, the redevelopment project will continue with BFC Partners, the real estate group chosen by the New York City Economic Development Corp. to co-develop with Slate. But NYCC is pushing to start from square one on the project.