New York Stands by the Colors

Congratulations are in order to Governor Hochul and the Knickerbocker Greys. Her Honor has signed into law a requirement that the 7th Regiment Armory on Park Avenue must provide quarters to the Greys, the oldest patriotic youth organization in the country. By rights this should end the effort of the cultural conservancy that is the Armory’s main tenant to oust the armory’s last link to regimental glory.We get that this can be passed off as a minor and parochial dispute. These columns have been one of the few defending the right of the Greys to remain at the armory at which they’ve been welcomed for more than 120 years. The Greys are a color guard of youths, who have their own smart grey uniforms and learn to present the flag, various standards, and guidons at military and community events. The tradition goes back centuries.What the flag and other colors mean in battle is beautifully marked at 2:26:30 in “The Rough Riders,” a movie dramatization of the battle that hoisted Theodore Roosevelt to fame. It captures the moment when Lieutenant Pershing races to the front with an order to Colonel Roosevelt to attack San Juan Hill. TR takes off his spectacles, reads the order, stands in the saddle, and bellows the immortal words: “Stand by the Colors.”It’s always been a mystery to us why the armory building’s main tenant, the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy, a cultural group, fought so assiduously to evict the Knickerbocker Greys. The Greys occupy about 1,000 square feet in the basement of the vast structure. The case dragged on in court for years. Finally, a state senator, Liz Krueger, and Representative Alex Bores argued the Greys’ case in Albany, and the legislation was finally enacted.“I am very pleased that Governor Hochul has signed this bill,” Ms. Krueger said Saturday, stressing the Greys’ role in “the fabric and history of our community” as a group “that has touched the lives of so many young people.” She suggested “there’s plenty of room in the Armory” for “the great arts programming that the Conservancy presents as well as continuing to be the permanent home of the Greys.” The Conservancy has been unresponsive to our queries.Yet we hope the cultural conservancy — which, after all, has so much to contribute to New York — accepts the decision of the legislature. The vote was, at 145 to zero, unanimous in the Assembly and 59 to one in the Senate. We see the vote as animated not by any animosity to the Conservancy but a mark of New York’s appreciation of the Knickerbocker Greys, youths from all walks of life in the city, and their willingness to stand by the colors.

New York Stands by the Colors

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