City Council Candidate Will 'Say No' To Bedford-Union Armory Deal

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo — whose district includes Fort Green, Clinton Hill and parts of Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy — will have a challenger from the left this year in a re-match of her 2013 run for the seat.

Ede Fox, surrounded by members of four labor unions, stood in front of the Bedford-Union Armory splashed in sunshine Monday afternoon to formally launch her run for the seat. The Democratic primary takes place September 12.

The setting for her announcement is sure to be a central focus in the race; Fox joined protesters who chanted "Kill the deal!" in front of the armory, which is slated to be revamped and turned into a recreation space, condominiums and office space under a current city plan.

Fox, 45, wants the armory to include more affordable housing and to be built with union labor.

Cumbo, 42, hasn't taken a strong stance either way on the project, though she could cast an influential vote. She was booed and shouted down at a recent community meeting for saying she wanted to hear more from Mayor Bill de Blasio about the redevelopment plan.

"The energy here is really amazing, and I’m really glad that we had this opportunity to come out and make a real stand and really put Laurie’s foot to the fire and really say, 'You’ve got to make a choice here: Is it going to be the community or is it going to be these other guys?'" Fox told Patch after her announcement rally.

"Council Member Laurie Cumbo is a hard working and dedicated public servant with an unparalleled track record of serving her community for over 25 years with real and tangible results," Jennifer Blatus, a spokesperson for Cumbo's campaign, wrote in a statement emailed to Patch.

"She is looking forward to highlighting that record in the coming months as she embarks on her official campaign for reelection. As always, she will run a high road campaign designed to unite and inspire the community that she represents."

Fox, a former City Council staffer who is from Prospect Heights, lost to Cumbo, then a Brooklyn museum curator, in 2013.

"We need a Councilmember who is going to say 'No' when the city wants to take city-owned land and turn it into luxury housing, not 100 percent affordable housing," Fox said. "I will always say no."

About half of the apartment units at the armory will be designated "affordable" — including 20 percent for low-income families. However, using federal affordability standards, about 83 percent of the Armory's total rentals and condos will only be affordable for families who make around $90,000 a year.

BFC Partners, the company slated to develop the armory, announced Monday that service staff at the facility will consist of union workers. There has been no announced deal, however, for the building's construction to use union labor. Fox said that "Whatever is ultimately built here should always use union labor."

Sam Spokony, a spokesman for BFC Partners, declined to comment on Fox's announcement.

During Fox's announcement, a union truck bearing a sign with Cumbo's face and a message to "kill the deal" was parked on the side of the street.

"We need a candidate who is concerned about the people’s welfare, not the farewell," Anthony Williamson, who works at the Local 79 construction union, told Patch. "That candidate (Cumbo) is concerned about the fair well of our community, this candidate is concerned with the welfare."

Fox also told Patch she is against the mayor's plan to build a homeless shelter on Rogers Avenue. Cumbo has also recently come out against the shelter plan, while taking heat from constituents who say she didn't give them the proper heads up that it was coming.

"Spending money on creating a shelter, when you’ve got a huge building like this that’s going up, with luxury housing, all that’s doing is creating a Band-Aid and it’s not even a big enough Band-Aid to deal with the damage it’s going to do for the community," she said.

You can watch a video of her announcement below:

Image via Marc Torrence, Patch