The contentious Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment plan was approved Monday in an 8 to 4 vote by the City Planning Commission. The $310 million project, through which the Related Companies will turn the vacant Bronx landmark into a retail mall and movie theater, has been under in recent months from opponents who say a proposed supermarket there will drive nearby Morton Williams out of business. At the vote on Monday, protestors also argued that the developer should allow workers to form a union, holding signs that read “Say no way to poverty pay” and chanting “Two four six eight, Related must negotiate.” Related has said the project will bring thousands of permanent and construction jobs to the area. Mayor Bloomberg, who is in favor of the plan, said in a statement that the project is “an enormous opportunity to revitalize [the Armory] as a hub of activity and jobs in the West Bronx.” A City Council vote on the project will take place within 50 days. [NYT]

Opponents of the Bronx’s Kingsbridge Armory project are pushing back against a
proposed 60,000-square-foot supermarket that they say will increase
traffic in an already-congested area and drive the Morton Williams
supermarket across the street out of business. The redevelopment project, which will turn the nine-story building into the Shops at the Armory, has already met with community opposition. Now, the developer, Related
Companies, has produced a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which
the City Planning Commission will rely on in making its decision about
the project prior to the City Council’s final vote, and the owners of
Morton Williams hired consultant Brian Ketcham to scrutinize the
document. Ketcham said the impact statement severely underestimated the
impact the new supermarket would have on traffic, while Jesse Masyr,
the lawyer for Related, called his study a “hysterical analysis based
on opposition to the project.” [more]