An arial view of the Kingsbridge Armory.
Photo courtesy of NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC)
Community-led redevelopment, backed by enforceable commitments for jobs, housing, and environmental protections
CUNY School of Law’s Community and Economic Development (CED) Clinic served as legal counsel to the coalition of Bronx organizations that negotiated a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for the Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment. Clinic Co-Directors Carmen Huertas-Noble and Missy Risser, along with staff attorneys Ricxu Bacus and Sulafa Grijalva, worked with co-counsel Adrien Weigen to advise the coalition’s negotiating team and draft the final agreement.
The coalition, anchored by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, spent years organizing and articulating a shared vision for redevelopment that reflects community priorities. The resulting CBA formalizes many of those priorities in enforceable commitments between the developer, 8th Regiment Partners, and more than thirty local organizations, shaping how public and private investment is deployed as the project moves forward.
Recent City Council approval of the redevelopment has drawn public attention to the scope of the agreement and the protections it provides.
The CBA includes first-source hiring for Bronx residents, targets for local procurement, support for neighborhood small businesses, expanded youth programming, and investments in St James Park. It also sets out environmental requirements that include an all-electric design, stormwater protections, rooftop solar, air quality monitoring, and regular reporting. A fifteen-member community council will oversee compliance and help shape ongoing implementation.
The Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment will proceed in multiple phases. The first phase creates cultural and community facilities, youth and sports space, commercial offices, below-market light manufacturing space, parking, and public open space. The second phase adds 450 to 500 affordable homes and additional commercial offerings. These components are tied to the terms of the CBA and reflect the coalition’s long-term vision for equitable development in the surrounding neighborhoods.
The Clinic’s work on the Kingsbridge Armory CBA reflects its core mission. The CED Clinic partners with community groups, worker centers, and cooperatives across New York City on projects that combine economic development with community governance and accountability. Supporting the Kingsbridge coalition allowed the Clinic to apply that approach in a high-impact project with lasting implications for the Bronx.