Bedford Union Armory
1561 Bedford Avenue | Crown Heights | built 1905
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1908
The Bedford Union Armory opens as a castle-like brick and stone National Guard building
The Troop C Armory, also called the Bedford Union Armory, is a National Guard armory on Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights. It was built in 1903 and opened in 1908. The brick and stone building looks like a castle, and the U.S. Army used it for training and for keeping equipment. It also served as a stable for horses.
“…a brick and stone castle-like structure built in 1903 and opened in 1908 and was used by the U.S. Army for training, equipment storage and even as a horse stable…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2015
A mixed-use redevelopment of the armory with housing and a sports center is announced
In December 2015 the state's Economic Development Corporation and several companies announced a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use scheme for the armory. It called for 350 apartments, half of them affordable, and a 45,000-square-foot multi-sport facility developed with help from Carmelo Anthony's foundation. The plan also set aside room for commercial and office use and for a community area. By 2016 BFC Partners was redeveloping the armory through a long public review, despite opposition from residents.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2017
The City Council approves the armory plan after the affordable share rises to 60 percent
The armory deal drew years of argument because the city handed city-owned land to a private developer that planned market-rate units. Council Member Laurie Cumbo declared in 2017 that public land would not be used for luxury condominiums, and the first plan for market-rate condos was dropped. Once the developers agreed to make 60 percent of the rentals affordable, she called the project revolutionary, and the City Council approved it in 2017.
Source: brownstoner.com
- 2021
The armory is renamed for Congressman Major Owens
On February 26, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio, the city's economic development agency, Borough President Eric Adams, Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo and BFC Partners announced a new name for the Bedford Union Armory: the Major R. Owens Health and Wellness Community Center. Major Robert Odell Owens (1936-2013) was Crown Heights' congressman from 1983 to 2007.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2021
The Major R. Owens Center opens inside the armory at 1561 Bedford Avenue
Elected officials cut the ribbon on October 27, 2021, at the recreation center built inside the old armory. It has basketball courts, indoor soccer fields, a weight room and a swimming pool, plus office space for nonprofits, among them the West Indian American Carnival Association and the Brooklyn Pride Center. Cumbo, who spoke emotionally at the ceremony, called the planning an ordeal, and said seeing children swim proved the effort was right.
Source: brownstoner.com
- 2021
A $50 swimming lesson price stirs a new fight over who can use the armory center
Earlier in 2021, a report by The CITY revealed that half-hour swimming lessons at the new center would cost $50. BFC Partners then said only 250 discounted memberships would go to residents of Community Board 9. Asked about it, Council Member Laurie Cumbo gave a sarcastic answer describing the project as designed for third-wave gentrifiers. She later walked the remarks back in an email to constituents, promising more discounted memberships depending on the pandemic.
Source: brownstoner.com
Further reading
- Bedford Union ArmoryWikipedia
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