Reclaim Youth and Community Programs at the NYC Fort Washington Armory

This video explains the wrongful eviction of Growth and Development Services (GDS), as well as the mismanagement of the NYC Fort Washington Avenue Armory, a city-owned building that was designed and created to be a community center for the benefit of the residents and constituents of upper Manhattan and the Bronx. In 2019, GDS and its youth participants were unfairly forced out of their own space in the Armory. The eviction was enabled by the Armory Foundation and public officials.

On June 1, 2021, Manhattan Community Board 12 (CB 12), calling for better oversight of the NYC Fort Washington Armory, passed a resolution to investigate and make public all licenses for the Utilization of the Fort Washington Avenue Armory. This action was a direct result of GDS and other activists blowing the whistle on the misuse, underutilization and overcharging of space in the city-owned building. The willful blindness of public officials, the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), The Armory Foundation, and others has denied the community access to a space and program that were intended for them.

This resolution has still not been acted on and we need your help. Please SIGN THIS PETITION to reclaim the NYC Fort Washington Armory and community programs that were meant to be for the residents of NYC since 1993. THIS IS YOUR BUILDING, take it back! Let’s reclaim this building and turn it into the Heights Community Center! 

In signing this petition, you will be advocating for mental health services and equal access to essential programs for marginalized youth and families who are in dire need of community space and supportive services in Northern Manhattan and NYC. This vulnerable population has extensive disparities because of a lack of access to recreational, educational, mental health, and professional development programs. The toxic environmental and social injustices exacerbate the challenges facing underprivileged youth and community members. The mismanagement of the NYC Fort Washington Armory at 168th Street, a 2-acre city-owned building, is an example of social injustice and profit over people. 

On behalf of the community that the NYC Fort Washington Armory was meant to serve,

WE DEMAND:

• Reclaim GDS' space at the NYC Fort Washington Armory and reinstate their FREE mental health services
• Reclaim the building as the Community Center it was meant to be
• Insist the City make good on the original mandate of the building, and provide supportive services for the youth, adult families, and people suffering from homelessness
• Provide open access to The Armory college prep program to all youth in the community, not ONLY student-athletes
• Grant use of the theater and other rooms for community space, free of charge, when the track is not being used - as indicated in the license
• Make the premises available for use by the Department of Parks and Recreation for the benefit of the community at the times that do not conflict or interfere with the activities to be conducted by licensee, The Armory Foundation
• Subsidized or grant free space for nonprofits serving the needs of the surrounding community
• Prioritize hiring of local residents
• Give more access, at no cost, to the track for student-athletes in NYC
• Discontinuation of the privatization of the space and utilize only as intended in the mandate as, “only for the purpose of operating an indoor track and athletic facility... and for no other purpose”
• A redirection of funding to the community, rather than The Armory Foundation and its high paid directors and staff
• Creation of more equitable initiatives to ensure access to this Public building and community resources

Media Sources

Resolution to Investigate the Armory​

Washington Heights Armory on Defense Over Who Gets to Use Space​

Uptown Community Groups Slam Washington Heights armory for Charging Big Bucks to Use Facility​

Nonprofit Groups Say They're Being Priced Out of Ft. Washington Ave. Armory.​

Angst at the Armory: Looming Eviction Reignites Community Concerns​

Español - Washington Heights residents complain of lack of access to 'The Armory'