Kingsbridge Armory CBA campaign

(photo credit- New York Times)

Bettina Damiani of Good Jobs New York reports on the Clawback Blog that the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) is seeking to negotiate a CBA over the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx, a 575,000 square foot structure built in 1917 and slated to be turned into a shopping center (see here and here for information about the redevelopment project and here for photos of the existing building).

KARA is part of a larger community alliance, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NBCCC), and it's made up of tenant and neighborhood associations, faith based groups, unions, elected officials and other community-based groups. The Alliance is seeking commitments to living wages, union protections, local hiring goals, community space and environmental protections. To achieve these goals, it's seeking to negotiate a CBA, a Labor Peace Agreement and a project labor agreement. KARA was involved in the process of selecting the developer for the project, Related Companies, which is also the developer of the Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market.

A New York City Economic Development Corporation press release explains that the project will include between 25 and 35 retail stores as well as an anchor department store, landscaped rooftop space open to the public and a public plaza. It will be built using green design and is expected to attain LEED silver status. Elected officials and Related spokespersons expressed their desire to continue working with the community during the development process.

One Hill says it has a tentative CBA

One Hill representatives announced yesterday that a CBA involving the construction of a new arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins is nearly complete--it just needs to be approved by the 100+ members of the broad based community coalition. It also still needs to be approved by the mayor and county executive, both of whom have refrained from stating that they have a "tentative agreement."

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the tentative CBA contains the following provisions:

• A "Neighborhood Partnership Program" that would aim to generate $500,000 a year for six years from corporations willing to sponsor economic development in the Hill District in exchange for tax credits;
• Guarantees from the Penguins that the team will not block the formation of labor unions and that businesses that open in the neighborhood will pay employee wages between $12 and $30-plus an hour with benefits;
• Requirement that residents of the Hill District are included in approving a master plan for development in the neighborhood;
• A career resource center modeled on Milwaukee's "Big Step" program. The city and county will provide $90,000 a year for at least two years to build the center.

Pittsburgh's Northside community group criticizes developer over stall in CBA talks

About a month ago, Pittsburgh officials delayed a vote over a proposed Hyatt hotel in the North Side for 45 days so that the developers could meet with community representatives.

Yesterday, the Northside United community group criticized the developer, Continental, because it has so far failed to meet with them, purportedly ignoring more than 100 phone calls and emails. In response, a Continental representative stated that "we are not a company that is disrespectful of a community."

Continental has about two weeks left to begin negotiations before 45 day postponement of the vote on its development elapses. A spokesperson for Continental stated that the community coalition would be contacted on Monday to set up a meeting.

Penguins update... getting closer...

It seems that the One Hill Coalition is getting very close to signing a CBA. As reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this weekend:

Hill District leaders, determined to redevelop their neighborhood in conjunction with the construction of a new arena, last night said they had reached "a framework for a tentative agreement."

...

The Hill District group has spent more than a year negotiating with city and county leaders toward a seven-point blueprint for "A Livable Hill" that spells out the issues to be resolved.

...

The breakthrough, Mr. Redwood said, occurred in the past week as the Penguins joined the talks. "The Penguins have been negotiating in good faith," he said.

Yarone Zober, the mayor's chief of staff, characterized the keys to yesterday's announcement as a corporate-backed Hill development push and the creation of a job and social services center near the Hill House.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, county Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Penguins officials have begun approaching corporate leaders about their participation in a Neighborhood Partnership Program that would provide state tax credits to companies in return for development aid to the Hill.

Mr. Zober said the reception among corporate leaders has been very positive.

The Hill Resource Center will be "a way to connect people to existing services, located right in the Hill," Mr. Zober said. It will tie into the existing CareerLink job-finding system and other services.

Negotiations between the parties at the Downtown headquarters of the Sports & Exhibition Authority that ended around 5:30 p.m. nailed down the key planks of the agreement, which now goes back to the One Hill Community Benefits Coalition for approval and likely modifications.

Then it would go to the SEA board, and possibly the Urban Redevelopment Authority and county agencies.

In related news, it looks like the Hill District is definitely getting a grocery store.

Columbia expansion update

I haven't heard much about the Columbia CBA recently, but a new website has been put up to detail the university's expansion and some litigation involving the planned construction of a subterranean chemical storage area.