Battle over Armory restoration.In a testament to the true strength of New York's civic spirit, two nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. groups have engaged in a battle over the restoration of the Seventh Regiment Armory The Seventh Regiment Armory located at 643 Park Avenue, New York, New York, United States is a historic brick building that fills an entire city block on New York City's upper east side. , a national historic landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, site, structure, or object, almost always within the United States, officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance. . While the Empire State Development Corporation is ready to turn the keys over to the Seventh Regiment Armory Conservancy, Inc., an organization of neighborhood residents and art enthusiasts who are planning to undertake a major renovation project and turn it into a cultural center, the Veterans of the Seventh Regiment insist that the building retain its current use. On July 21, the ESDC ESDC Empire State Development Corporation ESDC Extra Segment Descriptor Cache ESDC Extremal Self-Dual Code held a public hearing on its plan to lease the Armory at 643 Park Avenue to the Conservancy for a 99-year term, which would allow the group to begin a $120 million renovation. However, during a pre-hearing rally, the Veterans claimed that the Armory does not belong to the state (the property has previously been leased to the City of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of ) and as such, is out of the ESDC's jurisdiction. Moreover, the Veterans claim that the ESDC and the Conservancy have deliberately exaggerated the building's state of disrepair to justify taking over control of the property. While their lawsuit against the state government is pending (they filed a complaint in April, 2005 with the New York State Supreme Court), the Veterans propose to undertake the restoration of the Armory themselves on a smaller scale. "The Seventh Regiment Museum will restore the exterior and interior of the historic Seventh Regiment Armory, preserving the unique historical rooms and preserving them as backgrounds to display artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. showing the rich cultural heritage of New York," they said in an official statement. "The great hall will continue to be available in emergencies while being used as a display venue." |
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