‘It’s a Disgrace’ — Bores, Krueger Support Bill to Help Youth Cadet Group Regain Armory Home

The Knickerbocker Greys, one of the oldest New York City youth groups, is being evicted from the Park Avenue Armory, the Upper East Side arts center the young cadets have called home for over a century.

City and state legislators are pushing a bill to end the permanent eviction proceedings for the Greys, who have historically held all operations out of the Armory. The Conservancy that oversees the state-owned building claims they need the space for renovations.

The Greys, whose legacy is painted both literally and figuratively on the walls of the Armory, have been asked to find a new home permanently.

“[They’re] polishing the plaques of dead Greys, while kicking out the live ones,” said Alex Bores, New York State Assemblymember for the 73rd District.

The youth organization has been at the Armory since 1902, and until 2020, no one had ever stopped them from meeting after school on Tuesdays, with the exception of the National Guard after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Greys were forced to halt their in-person meetings at the Armory. According to Rogatnick, the group tried to resume their meetings about two years ago, but the Conservancy declined their request and that started the latest tug-of-war.

“Really, it’s all about getting the kids back in their home,” said Knickerbocker Greys Board President Adrienne Rogatnick.

In 2021, Rogatnick said the Conservancy essentially came to the Grey's and told the organization they’d be pushed out in about two weeks.

“The Conservancy was created with the assumption that the Greys would still be there. The executive director testified that the Greys would always be there,” Bores said. “I think it’s a disgrace.”

According to Bores, the Greys actually testified in support of the Conservancy taking over the Armory because they believed in the proposed renovations and believed they’d resume their traditional quarters.

“The fact that, in the last two years, there’s been this change of heart and an inability to work out a way to keep them there, I think is betraying the promises that were made when the conservancy was created,” Bores said.

The Greys haven’t been back to 643 Park Ave. for their meetings. Instead, Rogatnick said they meet at a “harder to get to” location owned by friends of the organization on 23rd Street.

“Sixty Seventh Street is much more central to Queens and Harlem,” she said. “We’ve got kids from...everywhere.”

Some families have expressed greater difficulty commuting to the new building, since the meetings are held right after school and the Greys draw students from across the city.

Rogatnick said the Greys have been “living out of trunks” causing a “nightmare” from an organizational perspective. Everything—the ribbons, medals, uniforms and flags used for the program—has come from the homes of Rogatnick and other staff members. Fifteen filing cabinets worth of materials and archives were left at the Armory.

“We try not to have it affect the kids, because kids are kids,” she said. Instead, she said the organization uses the conflict as a “teachable moment” in the scope of civic engagement for the young cadets to learn.

Bores said he has seen and worked with the Greys at numerous events, and they are backed by a very dedicated community. Two years ago, the community board passed a resolution stating there be no more public funding for the Armory until they held up their end of the bargain, leaving the Greys’ home alone.

“It’s an important program, and there’s no reason for them to do this,” Bores said. “It’s just a very silly, nonsensical dispute.”

The bill, supported by State Sen. Liz Krueger, State Sen. Jose M. Serrano and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, has another three weeks before it is passed by the state assembly. Still, Bores says his ideal resolution would not be it passing, but instead the Armory complying on their own.

“They’re saying they’re doing renovations, and so they need the space,” he said. “The Greys have to go forever, which makes no sense.”

If passed, the bill would halt the Greys’ eviction immediately, allowing them to return home to the Armory.

“The sacrifices members of the Greys have made have been a part of this building’s history longer than anyone currently alive,” he said. “To me, that really underscores the absurdity of the situation.”

The Park Ave. had not returned calls from Our Town by presstime.