Beford-Atlantic Armory

Tonight is a big night for the Park Slope Armory as Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn Borough President) and the Brooklyn Ballet, Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and others celebrate the armory’s overhaul into a state-of-the-art YMCA.  So, is there another armory rehab in our future? According to Curbed, it seems that the answer is “yes”.  They reported that, in his State of the Borough address tonight, Markowitz plans to announce a proposal to turn the fortress-like Bedford-Atlantic Armory into a rec center.

The Bedford-Atlantic armory currently runs as a homeless shelter, but is underused with a lot of extra space. It is slated to cost somewhere around $20 million for the conversion. So, where will they get all the funding? Keep reading (it gets juicy…)

As reported by the New York Daily News: Markowitz would shell out $1 million from his capital budget for it, The Homeless Services Department has pledged $10 million to convert the century-old Bedford-Atlantic Armory in Crown Heights into a rec center – and also plans to open a controversial intake center for homeless men there. “I guarantee you I will have [another] $10 million by the time the budget is over,” said Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Crown Heights), who said she’d chip in cash from her member items and appeal for state and federal money for the Bedford-Atlantic armory project.  Crown Heights Revitalization Movement co-founder Sandy Taggart said the Bedford-Atlantic plan could succeed only if the city scrapped plans for an intake center that would draw homeless men from around the city.  “The two cannot coexist,” she said.

I think a lot of Crown Heights residents would be pleased to have it exist exclusively as a fitness space. Read this damning article from the New York Daily News about why the the Bed-Atlantic Armory should not become the central intake center for the whole city (this was back in 2009- so I don’t know what actually happened.) But, I do know it currently operates as a homeless shelter.  I agree with Ms. Taggert, I don’t see how an intake center and a rec center can co-exist.  Sex offenders and drug users among the homeless men who would be in proximity to women, children and residents? Come on!

Related Posts:

1. Spotted: in Prospect Heights (April 19th, 2010)
2. Toddler open sports at Park Slope Armory (March 5th, 2010)
3. The New YMCA at Park Slope Armory debuts! (January 11th, 2010)
4. New School Openings: Clinton Hill, Prospect Lefferts, Carroll Gardens (January 6th, 2010)
5. Daycare in Prospect Heights/Crown Heights? (November 1st, 2009)