BMX Riders, Get Ready: Kingsbridge Armory May Become A Velodrome

Via Nick Damiano's Flickr

Instead of shopping for a food processor at Bed Bath & Beyond, you may soon be popping front wheelies and getting air, free from the death cookies of the street in the Bronx's Kingsbridge Armory. After BP Ruben Diaz, Jr., successfully staved off Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to build a shopping mall in the cavernous, castle-looking structure, he commissioned a study from NYU's Wagner school of public service to determine what to do with the building, and one proposal gaining steam is to make it a velodrome. Building developer and former president of the Century Road Club Association tells the Daily News that the location's massive 600' by 300' floor makes it ideal for a BMX course, and a spokesman for Bloomberg said that his office would "listen to all feasible proposals that include private-sector investment and use city funds responsibly."

Converting the armory into a community space for exercise would make sense in light of the success of the 168th street armory track, and especially since the city only has a single velodrome in Kissena Park, Queens. The founder of Bike the Bronx is on board, saying "It could help solve the problem of obesity" in the neighborhood. What it may not solve is the problem of job creation, as one activist noted that the Bronx "need[s] schools build. We need living-wage jobs at the armory." But a velodrome that would revive the city's love affair with BMX racing sounds fine to us, and it has to be better than letting Will Smith make crappy movies in it.

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By Christopher Robbins in Arts & Entertainment on June 20, 2011 2:50 PM

Comments [rss]

randomtransplant

The question remains: Will I be able to bust some sick freestyle drops on my hardtail or will I still be stuck hoofing it most of the way to long Island?

Cyclerock

BMX is now an olympic event. Not many people reallize that. I'm pretty sure track racing is in the olympics too, so a local facility makes sense.

Ragingsemi

You're being sarcastic right?

Spirit of 76

This is actually a fairly good idea. Last I heard, there was still only one indoor velodrome in the US, and it's in California. They've been talking about putting one in Pennsylvania for years now, but nothing ever comes of it. Having one in NYC would make the city a destination for even more people. An indoor velodrome would allow riders to train and race year-round, as well as being a good venue if the city ever wants to try for a Summer Olympics again. Kissena, being outdoor with no roof, is unusable from November through March, plus any rainy days during the cycling season. The next closest velodrome in Lehigh Valley is also outdoor.

This really wouldn't be anything new. New York, via the previous Madison Square Garden, once had a grand and glorious history of indoor bicycle racing about 120 years ago.

jaycjay

"New York, via the previous Madison Square Garden, once had a grand and glorious history of indoor bicycle racing about 120 years ago."

There were hundreds of velodromes all over the country at the time.

And, by the way, BMX bikes didn't even exist. Again, two different things.

Spirit of 76

There were lots of velodromes, but the Six-Day race series culminated in Madison Square Garden, where the event was the equivalent of the Superbowl and the World Series rolled into one for the public of that era and attracted record audiences. And I never wrote anything at all about BMX bikes. I mentioned Kissena and Lehigh Valley and alluded to the Home Depot track, none of which have anything to do with BMX.

luke_1

Your headline makes it sound like people race bmx in velodromes. I know you mean well but I think you conflated the two activities and it sounds a little dumb.