In New York, the city planning commission voted 8-4 yesterday to approve the Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment plans, despite Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz's recommendation to reject the proposal unless the developer entered into a CBA. Amanda Burden, chair of the CPC, explained candidly that the CBA issue was not an appropriate one for the commission to consider: “For this application, as we have consistently held with other applications in the past, the issue of a Community Benefit Agreement including commitment to living wages should not weigh in our consideration of the merits of the land-use application for rezoning, disposition of City-owned property, and changes to the City Map.” The city council now must make a final decision on the project within 50 days.
