BILL NUMBER: S7212

SPONSOR: KRUEGER
 
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 space at and
use of the 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 Seventh
Regiment Armory.

Section 2 of the bill mandates that the Knickerbocker Greys shall be
              

provided with a lease, to be entered into with the Division of Military
and Naval Affairs and the State of New York as landlord. The lease shall
provide the Greys with permanent access to, headquarters at, and meeting
and event space at the Armory, as described immediately above in Section
1 of this summary.

Section 3 amends the New York State Urban Development Corporation law to
add language providing the Knickerbocker Greys with space in the Seventh
Avenue Armory pursuant to a lease with the Conservancy, the Division of
Military and Naval Affairs and the State.

Section 4 provides for an immediate effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Knickerbocker Greys, founded in 1881, is the oldest after-school
program in the history of the United States. The Greys, an institution
within New York City, is 501(c)(3) non-profit federal charitable organ-
ization serving children ages 6-16. Greys Cadets are afforded opportu-
nities to develop their character, confidence, perseverance, social
skills and problem-solving in a context of fun, togetherness and accept-
ance. The cadets engage in a variety of activities including performing
color guards at inaugurations and various other events in New York City,
going on field trips to historical sites, participating in parades, and
engaging in community service. As former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
said on the floor of Congress, in remarks printed in the Congressional
Record of October 25, 2022:

The Greys are a part of living history and still proudly drill at the
landmarked Park Avenue Armory, as they have since 1902. Boys and girls
from a diverse list of independent, magnet, parochial, home and public
schools located in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Westches-
ter County have been strengthened by their participation in the program-
ming for decades, and have emerged as young leaders and productive citi-
zens throughout our nation.


The Armory has been home to the Knickerbocker Greys for more than 120
years. In 1902, the day after the Armory that previously housed the
Greys burned down, Mrs. Augusta Lawler Curtis (the Founder and President
of the Greys) wrote to Colonel Daniel Appleton, the head of the Seventh
Regiment, asking for aid. Colonel Appleton immediately invited the Greys
to drill and conduct their activities at the Seventh Regiment Armory.
They have remained there in the same basement space, meeting weekly and
holding their annual events such as the Winter Review for parents and
alumni.

The Greys continue to use the Seventh Regiment Armory as a space to
practice drilling, host cadet meetings and lessons as well as larger
events in the Drill Hall on the first floor, second floor Company rooms,
the Veterans Room (aka The Tiffany room) & the Board of Officers rooms.
The Greys headquarters has been located in the basement at the Armory
primarily between the two stairwells that flank the entrance to the
Drill Hall, along with two additional adjacent closets for records and
archives.

The Seventh Regiment Armory is an historic landmark of immense
distinction that has achieved local and national renown. As the New York
Landmarks Preservation Commission stated in 1967: "(T)he Seventh Regi-
ment 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 the Landmarks Preservation Commission further explained:

Among its important qualities, the Seventh Regiment Armory has great
historical value because, in its component parts, it provides an example
of two conflicting tendencies of Nineteenth Century architecture, roman-
tic military architecture and expressive functionalism; that it houses
an organization, the Seventh Regiment, with a long and distinguished
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 structure of local
and national renown.

The Knickerbocker Greys presence at the Armory since 1902, along with
the Seventh Regiment, was integral to the landmark status determination
in 1967. The Landmark Preservation Commission in its 1967 findings made
special mention of the Greys, emphasizing their historic connection to
the Seventh Regiment:

The Knickerbocker 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 Knicker-
bocker Greys has been a source of membership for the Seventh Regiment.

Notably, the Armory features several wall plaques commissioned and dedi-
cated to the Knickerbocker Greys cadets that served and died in World
War I and World War II. The Greys have fought, and died, in other of the
nation's wars as well, including the Spanish American War, World War I,
World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, The Iraq War, The Afghan-
istan 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 been in the Armory since 1902 based on an agreement with the
Seventh Regiment dating to that time. The Greys' efforts to maintain its
longstanding headquarters at the Armory has earned the support of vocal
and enthusiastic local elected officials, including members of Congress,
State Senators, State Assembly Members, City Council Members and the
Manhattan Borough President. Unanimous Community Board Resolutions are
also evidence of unequivocal support for the Greys; indeed, in one of
its resolutions on May 25, 2022, the Community Board took the unusual
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."

This bill would acknowledge and confirm the Knickerbocker Greys' place
in the history of New York and the Seventh Regiment Armory by ensuring
that the Greys have adequate and permanent space at the Armory to meet
and hold their events as long as the Armory stands.  The bill would
further protect the Greys by permanently securing their right to main-
tain their headquarters in the Armory, where the Greys have flourished
for over 120 years.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023: New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.