Culture Group Gains Control of Park Ave. Armory as Neighbors Feud

Control of the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue was quietly transferred to a nonprofit organization Tuesday, a crucial step in its transformation from a neglected neighborhood eyesore into a renovated cultural center.The changeover came just as some prominent Upper East Siders joined a group of opponents in protesting some of the changes associated with the organization’s plan for the facility. The opponents included the financier Henry Kravis and the filmmaker Woody Allen.The Seventh Regiment Armory Conservancy finalized a 99-year lease with the state and assumed control of the landmarked 1879 armory, after receiving final approval from the offices of the state comptroller and attorney general. The dingy, dark brick building is now the site of several prominent arts and antiques shows. It also serves as a homeless shelter for women.Beginning in about 2008, the Conservancy plans to spend about $150 million to restore the armory’s decaying rooms, filled with historic treasures. The 55,000 square foot drill hall in the Lexington Avenue side of the building, where national guardsmen stayed briefly following the terrorist attacks of 2001, would be refashioned into a visual and performing arts space. Air conditioning would be installed to permit events to be held year round.A veterans group that has long occupied parts of the armory and has used the building as a gathering place, the Seventh Regiment Veterans, have resisted the state’s plan to turn over the building to the Conservancy, preferring that they be named the building’s permanent stewards. The veterans have met with a series of defeats in court, and have recently concentrated on delaying the project by instigating community opposition.A lawyer for the Veterans, Selig Sacks, said the group had been hoping to further delay the transfer to Conservancy by lobbying the attorney general and the comptroller to withhold their signatures on the Conservancy’s lease, based on what appears to be growing community opposition.The transfer of control comes at a time when a number of prominent neighbors, Messrs. Kravis and Allen, have voiced their opposition to the Conservancy’s plans.In a letter, Mr. Kravis called the plans “ill conceived,” “ill advised,” and “not in keeping with the residential nature of our neighborhood.”A number of co-op boards representing nearby buildings have jumped into the fray, sending letters and appearing before meetings of the local community board. Some opponents are demanding a full environmental impact statement for the cultural center, including a more thorough traffic study than has been conducted by the Conservancy.The traffic argument has gained traction with neighbors. A traffic consultant hired by the Veterans group, Brian Ketchum, called the existing traffic assessment “quick and dirty.” He said the proposed changes would increase the area’s congestion by roughly 20% during peak hours, a number of car trips to the site that he compared with a Costco or Home Depot. The Veterans group is now appealing a recent court decision that confirmed that the Conservancy’s study is sufficient.Last night, at a spirited meeting of Community Board 8, a motion calling for an increased traffic study narrowly failed.Mr. Allen, in a letter read to the board, questioned the need for a 1,500-seat performance space on that location. “I certainly have nothing against the building of new theaters but with so many other possible locations this seems to me clearly like a wrong choice,” he wrote.Several community members expressed relief that the renovation process would not be further delayed, and expressed dismay at the tactics employed by the Veterans.The board president of 116 East 66 Street, Leland Englebardt, praised the Conservancy as “the first organization to seriously commit itself to resolving the sanitary and environmental problems of the armory.”Mr. Englebardt said at times the conditions were so bad, “my night doorman said he was afraid to go outside because the rats around the Armory were so large and so numerous.”The Conservancy, which was designated by the state in 2000 to take over control of the armory, downplayed Tuesday’s changeover. Its president, Rebecca Robertson, said the lease had been in the “works for months.”“It doesn’t in any way diminish our resolve to work with the community,” Ms. Robertson said.The chairman of Community Board 8, David Liston, said yesterday the finalized lease would not affect the ongoing community debate about the project. Mr. Liston acknowledged that Community Board input is merely advisory.“Some people will say, that ends that. And other board members will say, who cares?” Mr. Liston said. “It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still be looking at this.”

Culture Group Gains Control of Park Ave. Armory as Neighbors Feud

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