New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Councilwoman Virginia Maloney have sharply criticized the Park Avenue Armory's legal efforts to evict the Knickerbocker Greys, a youth cadet program that has used the historic building as its headquarters since 1902. The council leaders sent a letter Monday to Rebecca Robertson, president of the Seventh Regiment Armory Conservancy, calling the lawsuit "ill-advised" and "tone-deaf."
The Knickerbocker Greys, a youth corps affiliated with the 7th Regiment, has occupied an 800-square-foot space within the 200,000-square-foot armory for 124 years. The conservancy, which leases the armory from the state, claims it needs the space for planned renovations.
"The Conservancy is supposed to conserve the Armory’s history, not chase it away," Adams and Maloney stated in their letter. They highlighted that the nonprofit Park Avenue Armory has received $25 million in city cultural funds. Lawmakers and Governor Kathy Hochul previously approved legislation in 2024 aimed at preventing the Knickerbocker Greys' eviction, a move the armory executives subsequently challenged with a federal lawsuit.
The council members asserted that the attempted eviction "makes zero legal or practical sense and has sadly tarnished the Conservancy’s reputation." They noted that the conservancy, which holds a 99-year lease obtained in 2006, has used the 146-year-old building for high-profile events, including fashion shows by designers like Giorgio Armani and after-parties attended by celebrities.
According to the council members, the armory asserts that the Greys no longer "fit in" with the conservancy's "arts-related" and "cultural" programs. Adams and Maloney countered that the conservancy's claim that it cannot renovate the armory or fulfill its cultural mission without removing the Greys from less than one percent of the usable space "strains credulity."
"The Greys can argue at trial that their use of ‘less than 1%’ of this ‘multi-story, City block-sized facility’ will not interfere with the conservancy’s ability to use the armory," the lawmakers wrote. They added, "Count us among the convinced."
The council leaders urged the conservancy to reconsider its position, suggesting that it would be "wise and appreciated" given the taxpayer funding the armory receives and the public support for the Greys. They concluded that the dispute "should never have devolved into costly, lengthy litigation."
Howard Rogatnick, counsel for the Knickerbocker Greys, welcomed the council members' support, describing their letter as "powerful, pointed, very sensible" and urging the Conservancy board to "change course and drop those wasteful, senseless suits." The Seventh Regiment Armory Conservancy/Park Avenue Armory had no immediate comment on the matter. The Knickerbocker Greys have been headquartered in the Upper East Side armory since 1902, when Theodore Roosevelt was president.