In the latest twist concerning the fate of the Knickerbocker Greys at the Park Ave. Armory, the building’s conservancy is suing their state landlord, after Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law last December that prevented them from evicting the historic youth cadet group.
The law, which garnered popular local support and was spearheaded by State Senator Liz Krueger and State Assemblyman Alex Bores, mandated that the Greys are allowed to keep their current 800-foot outpost in the armory’s basement. At the time, Krueger called the Greys “a wonderful part of the fabric and history of our community, an organization that has touched the lives of so many young people.”
The Greys, which were founded in 1881 and identify themselves as the “oldest after-school program” in NYC, maintain a notable alumni list that includes former NYC Mayor John Lindsay and former NY Governor Nelson Rockefeller. They are inextricably tied to the traditions of the New York National Guard’s 7th Regiment, known in its 19th-century heyday as the prestigious “Silk Stocking” regiment, which the armory is formally named after…