Authorizes the Knickerbocker Greys program to access and use for a permanent headquarters the seventh regiment armory for the purposes of programming during periods which are not periods of civil or military emergency.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7686
SPONSOR: Bores TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the military law and the New York state urban develop-
ment corporation act, in relation to authorizing the use of the seventh
regiment armory by a not-for-profit entity
PURPOSE:
This bill would provide the Knickerbocker Greys permanent headquarters,
meeting space and event space atthe Seventh Regiment Armory.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 180-a of the Military Law to provide the Knick-
erbocker Greys permanent access to the Armory, a permanent headquarters
at the Armory, and permanent meeting and event space at the Armory.
Section 2 of the bill mandates that the Knickerbocker Greysbe provided
with a lease, to be entered into with the Division of Military and Naval
Affairs and the State of New York as landlord. As described in Section 1
of this summary, thelease shall provide the Greys with permanent access
to the Armory, a permanent headquarters at the Armory and permanent
meeting and event space at the Armory.
Section 3 amends the New York State Urban Development Corporation law to
add language providing the Knickerbocker Greys with space in the Seventh
RegimentArmory pursuant to a lease with the Division of Military and
Naval Affairs and the State of New York.
noted in 1967: "(T)he Seventh Regiment Armory has a special character,
special historical and aesthetic interest and value as part of the
development, heritage and cultural characteristics of New York City."
As theCommission further explained the physical structure felicitously
combined elements of expressive functionalism and romantic military
architecture. Moreover, as the Commission also particularly noted, the
Armory:
houses an organization, the Seventh Regiment, with a long and distin-
guished military record; that the prominent citizens of New York who
have always been associated with the military and social history of the
organization give it great distinction and that it is a military struc-
ture of local and national renown.
The Landmark Preservation Commission in its 1967 findings made special
mention of the Knickerbocker Greys, emphasizing their historic
connection to the Seventh Regiment and the Armory itself: The Knicker-
bocker Greys, a junior cadet corps for (children), from the New York
metropolitan area, was founded in 1881; ever since 1902, it has been
drilling in the Seventh Regiment Armory. Closely patterned after the
adult organization in character and in its uniforms, the Knickerbocker
Greys has been a source of membership for the Seventh Regiment.
The Greys, in sum, have been "an integral part of the history and future
of the Armory." Emblematic of this historic association are several wall
plaques featured at the Armory commemoratingthe Knickerbocker Greys
cadets that served and died in World War I and World War II.
Indeed,Greys have fought, and died, in manyof the nation's wars in addi-
tion to the. World Wars,including the. Spanish American War,The Korean
War, The Vietnam War, The Iraq War, The Afghanistan War and The Global
War on Terrorism.
Since the COVID pandemic, the Conservancy has attempted to evict the
Knickerbocker Greys from their space at the Armory. As noted, the Greys
have conducted their activities atthe Armory since 1902 based on an
agreement with the Seventh Regiment.The Greys' efforts to maintain its
longstanding presence and headquarters at the Armory has attracted the
vocal and enthusiasticsupport ofelected officials, including members of
Congress, State Senators, State Assembly Members, City Council Members
and the Manhattan Borough President. Unanimous Community Board Resol-
utions are also evidence of unequivocal support for the Greys; indeed,
in one of its resolutions on May 25, 2022, the Community Board took the
extraordinary step of declaring that "the Conservancy should be denied
funding from New York City and New York State if the Greys are not
permitted to use the Armory for their headquarters, classes and events."
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7686
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 5, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BORES, SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the military law and the New York state urban develop-
ment corporation act, in relation to authorizing the use of the
seventh regiment armory by a not-for-profit entity
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 180-a of the military law is
2 amended by adding a new paragraph (l) to read as follows:
3 (l) "Knickerbocker Greys program use" shall mean use during periods
4 which are not periods of civil or military emergency, the Knickerbocker
5 Greys shall have the right to access and use, for a permanent headquar-
6 ters, sufficient and suitable space, consisting of no less than twelve
7 hundred square feet, for the current and uninterrupted daily operation
8 of programming, as well as usual and customary building services and
9 utilities, including but not limited to heat, water and electric.
10 § 2. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of section 180-a of the military
11 law, as added by chapter 482 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as
12 follows:
13 (e) The management agreement and lease shall not apply to shelter use
14 or to Knickerbocker Greys program use. Shelter use shall be governed by
15 a separate agreement between the city of New York, the lessee and the
16 state of New York; such separate agreement shall be executed prior to
17 the execution of the lease. Knickerbocker Greys program use shall be
18 governed by a separate agreement between the division and the state of
19 New York; such separate agreement shall be executed no later than
20 September fifteenth, two thousand twenty-three.
21 § 3. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section
22 180-a of the military law, as added by chapter 482 of the laws of 2004,
23 is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07379-03-3
A. 7686 2
1 (i) On application of any of the associations of veterans described in
2 [paragraph] paragraphs a and b of subdivision one of such section one
3 hundred eighty-three, the lessee or the manager pursuant to the terms of
4 the management agreement shall provide a proper and convenient room or
5 rooms or other appropriate space in the armory where such posts or chap-
6 ters may hold regular and special meetings and organizational social
7 events of a private nature, without the payment of any charge or expense
8 therefor, provided that such use does not interfere with the use by the
9 lessee or the manager pursuant to the terms of the management agreement,
10 including any use by third parties contracted for under subparagraph
11 (ii) of this paragraph.
12 § 4. Paragraph (b) of section 39 of section 1 of chapter 174 of the
13 laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban development corpo-
14 ration act, as added by chapter 482 of the laws of 2004, is amended to
15 read as follows:
16 (b) The lease with a lessee or subsequent lessee authorized by this
17 section shall require a lessee or subsequent lessee to undertake a
18 program of repair, restoration and refurbishment of the armory and to
19 manage and use the same as a facility for cultural and other civic uses.
20 The lease shall demise all portions of the armory other than those
21 reserved for a homeless shelter for women operated by the city of New
22 York pursuant to agreement with the state, those spaces reserved for use
23 by the Knickerbocker Greys pursuant to an agreement between the division
24 and the state of New York, and for that reserved for military use by the
25 division. The portion of the premises allocated to the shelter for home-
26 less women shall be sufficient and suitable space for the current and
27 uninterrupted operation of the shelter by the city of New York. The
28 portion of the premises allocated to the Knickerbocker Greys shall be
29 sufficient and suitable space for the current and uninterrupted opera-
30 tion, provided that it is no less than twelve hundred square feet for
31 their headquarters. The division shall cause the 107th corps support
32 group or its lineal descendent to maintain military use within the
33 reserved portions of the armory. The division, and the city of New York,
34 respectively, shall be responsible to repair and maintain their reserved
35 premises, including the costs of renovation and uninterrupted use, and
36 to pay an annual common maintenance charge to a lessee or subsequent
37 lessee to cover allocated costs of repair, maintenance and operation of
38 the common portions of the armory. The lessee or subsequent lessee shall
39 be required to apply all revenues generated by operations at the armory
40 to pay or provide for costs of repairs, restoration, refurbishment,
41 operating, maintenance and programming of the armory and the uses there-
42 in and the activities of the lessee or subsequent lessee with respect
43 thereto.
44 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
