Firings at the Armory include W55 sprint champ
Ed Small is steamed — and saddened. Not just because he was fired last month as director of track and field at the Armory indoor track in New York City (after 13 years of service). It’s the bitter fact that Dr. Norbert Sander, his old Armory boss, is lying to people and saying Small, 68, just up and retired. Now comes word that Ed’s assistant, W55 sprint champion Sharon Warren, was fired by the Armory yesterday. This completes a purge by Sander that began a couple years ago, when Robert Hill and Tom Buffalano were let go under similar circumstances. Robert and Tom were the ones who wanted the Armory to host the 2007 USATF Masters Indoor Nationals. And we know what happened to that — Sander pulled the plug.
Sharon pulled off an incredible triple at the 2006 Boston indoor nationals — winning the 60, 200 and 400 in her age group. She’s not used to losing, but Monday she was told she had lost her job. The reason?
Ed says it’s because Sharon applied for unemployment benefits — which is her legal right as a seasonal employee. As an indoor facility, the Armory gets heavy use in the September-April period. But it goes on hiatus during the late spring and summer as meets move outdoors. So Armory employees can apply for jobless benefits (as many teachers do during the summer).
Under state law, the Armory has to pay a large portion of jobless benefits to staff members who claim unemployment. That was too much for Sander, Ed says. Sander has discouraged this in the past.
Adding insult to injury, Dr. Sander has put out the word that Sharon has “retired” as well, Ed told me in a phone chat this morning.
Ed feels close to Sharon because he acts as her coach.
But mainly, Ed was the heart and soul of the Armory since 1993, and carried out its mission to extend track opportunities to inner-city youth. It’s a job he held since 1993, when he made $15,000 a year and worked 70 hours a week arranging for meets, practice sessions and even stocking the soda machines, he told me.
Ed was replaced as T&F director by Olympic hurdle champ Derrick Adkins.
In the press release announcing Derrick’s new gig, Sander is quoted as saying: “Ed Small did a great job for us, getting the Armory off the ground in 1993 and we are fortunate to have someone the quality of Derrick to take the baton from him at this important juncture of great expansion at the New Balance Track & Field Center.”
Ed’s take on Adkins? “Derrick is all right — but he doesn’t know what he’s in for,” Ed told me.
Ed’s job was — everything. He says he booked the 90 meets a year at the Armory, collected the money, did the contracts (negotiating meet and practice prices) — and was the go-to guy for the 50 high schools and 8-10 colleges that used the Armory. And he says Sander never had a negative to thing to say about Ed’s work.
But relations between Sander and a half-dozen Armory employees have soured over the years as Sander’s cronyism and mysterious money management began to grate on the staff.
Ed shared a few examples.
— A mammoth mural showing track and field figures adorns half the arena — at a cost of $14,000, according to Ed. But none of the figures is black — which is strange since a majority of the athletes using the track are black. Ed (who also is African-American) says Dr. Sander (who is white) hasn’t explained the diss of its clientele, but it could just be that the mural artist was a friend of Sander’s.
— The Coogan’s restaurant outside the Armory has a special deal with Sander to serve athletes, coaches and other track visitors. That’s because no outside food is allowed inside the Armory. (Ed calls Coogan’s food overpriced.)
— In its Form 990 tax filings, the Armory says its budget is $2.5 million a year. But a lot of creative accounting goes into its expense column, says Ed, including $6,000 to plant trees in front of the homeless shelter attached to the Armory.
— Despite the fact that they Armory is paid $34,000 to host the national high school invitational, the USATF Association that puts on the meet — the Metropolitan — has been treated like crap. At a recent meeting between the Armory and the Metropolitan (formerly the MAC), the Met was told it would have to pay for all its winter meets up front — in June, Ed says. That was the Armory’s way of telling the Met to take a hike.
— The Armory has a habit of pulling the plug on meets, or forcing users (including Front Runners) to change meet dates. Besides the infamous maltreatment of USATF Masters T&F, Sander has reneged on contracts to hold meets on specific dates, Ed says. The reason the meet holders haven’t held the Armory to their word? They’re afraid of being blackballed — prevented from using the Armory (which is basically a monopoly for indoor track in the city).
— The Armory, ostensibly a tax-exempt nonprofit charity, files a publc report to the IRS every year stating its income and expenses. In recent years, it has listed Ed as the Armory Foundation’s executive director. That is false. And listing Ed as exec director might expose him to financial peril under certain circumstances. When Ed began objecting to this, his fate was sealed.
Ed tells me he attended last weekend’s Reebok meet at Randall’s Island, near NYC, and was upset to learn that everyone he talked to thought he had retired from the Armory gig. Not so, he told one and all.
Ed is not in financial difficulty. He has a pension from the city of New York from 32 years as a social worker, he says, and he also collects Social Security. I’m not clear on Sharon’s exposure, though. I hope she’ll rebound.
Ed just wants the truth out.
I’m on the case, and have given Nobert Sander an opportunity to reply.
12 Responses
Ken,
You’re my man!! Thanks for exposing this unfairness to Ed and Sharon, and I’m sure you’ll stay on it till the truth is exposed.
Ed has basically given his soul to track as long as I’ve known him. What a loss! I hope Mr. Adkins doesn’t fall for the bullshit.
Sal
I have it on the best authority that Metropolitan, which runs the NSIC meet, is more than $40,000 in debt to the Armory for bills simply not paid. Norb Sander is more than justified in throwing them out. If one doesn’t pay one’s bills, one shouldn’t expect any good treatment. This doesn’t have anything at all to do with Ed Smalls, a truly great guy who was treated poorly.
Actually, DR. Sanders owed the metro group more than $10,000 after the Nationals and withheld the money until they had a meeting. To be fair, they had a history of late payments, but so does the PSAL who pays through the NY Public Schools and you have to wait 6 months for a check from them. and they had significantly more meets than Metro.
About Ed. He was so underappreciated for the work that he did at The Armory. I remember when Ed started at The Armory, pretty much by himself since Dr. Sanders still worked from his practise. So it was only Ed who ran the place from top to bottom. But does he get the credit for doing all this work? Without Ed, there would be no Armory, but nobody seems to get that. And who give Sharon credit for all the kids she helped? She came into contact with many kids through youth programs and all she did was encourage them to stay in school and keep running. She was kind of a big sister to them and they all loved her.That’s why they kept coming back to visit her all the time. Ask them what she meant to the Armory.
So Ed and Sharon deserved better, their names should be ingraved on the glass hall of fame wall too.
This is bad news for everyone involved in track in the metro area. Ed Smalls is a role model as an administrator. And that is THE rariest thing in track and field. At the end of the day there are those who talk and there are those who ge the job done.
I read this on the letsrun.com board and I thought I would post here. I am saddened to see these events at the armory. Mr. Smalls, Miss Warren and Mr. Hill were all very helpful and encouraging to me while I was in high school. I trained at the armory and went through the armory prep program run by Mr. Hill. It was so helpful to get me into college. All of them were very supportive. I heard that after Mr. Hill left the armory prep program was cancelled and I know many high school kid and coaches who were upset but nobody at the armory listened to them. SOme kids are probably not going to college because of that.
I think that the realy good people in track and field like Mr. Small, Miss Warren and Mr. Hill should bve rewarded for what they do to help others, not be fired for it.
I have had the honor of getting to know Ed Small over the years.I also had the opportunity to work for him at the Armory one season. Ed has a heart of GOLD..no disrespect to new track and field Director Derrik Atkins who OWNS an OLympic gold medal (400 H ) but yes Ed Small has a HEART OF GOLD. He ALWAYS treats EVERYONE fairly…i have seen this over and over.Ed is honest and very motivated..he LOVES track and Field. In the “early” years at the Armory he was like a “pioneer” in the wilderness…for quite a while he had no telephone..but still got the job done. Ed Small dealt with a lot of adversity to make things better for ALL track and field athletes. He had the position of Director but he was willing to do any job that needed to be done…many that other people would not do in fact…pick up discarded garbage..move pole valut mats..etc etc etc. This is the man we are talking about.Ed ALWAYS had time to talk to an athlete..and trust me the athletes sought his help. He was fully invested in helping the High School kids and just as helpfull with we Masters. Ed was doing this job NOT for money or “fame” he was doing this job because he loves OUR sport. Ed being fired is a BIG warning…there is “TROUBLE in paradise”. I think a lot more will be “revealed” as his firing makes absolutly no sense…why would one dismiss a great employee with a flawless reputation???? This questions deserves to be answered. We will all suffer from Eds dismissal from the Armory..Track and Field will suffer for political reasons apparently. Now to Sharon Warren..this lady is incredible too…i would watch her talking to young high school girls for hours and see how they responded to her direction. In this world WE NEED ROLE MODELS…Sharon is a role model..especialy for the MAJORITY of the the kids at the Armory. Sharon as we all know is an incredible athlete..3 golds at the nationals last march. Sharon did her job with LOVE (just like Ed). She could “get loud” if needed BUT it was needed MANY times at the Armory. people respect limits and boundaries …Sharon was willing to set them…and equally for everyone. Working at the Armory is harder than most people realise..we track and field athletes dont like to be told what to do or when to do it. It requires a lot of patience to work at the Armory. I am very very saddened that Ed and Sharon were fired..over the years they became deep and trusted friends. Sanders made a mistake here…and im sure i will “pay” for saying this BUT its true.Ed and Sharon deserved way way more than this incredible disgrace.. THANK YOU KEN STONE for doing this story and allowing all of us to know the TRUTH..
One more piece of news that has come out from various sources at the Randall’s Island meet. A rumour was rampant that Dr. Sanders called louis vasquez into his office a few weeks ago and threatened him with firing for something to do with the NY relays and Nike. Since Lou works for the Randall’s Island people for spring and summer, it seems that Dr. sanders was offended by something that happened duringthe meet that lou did not control but was part of the Radnall’s Island management decision. Now everyone knows lou has been at the armory for years and part of track and field for years in coaching and adminstration and is well liked by many in the community, so it appears that Dr. Sanders is taking shots at everyone. No one is safe from his wrath.
IT IS A SAD DAY AT THE ARMORY, WHEN ED AND SHARON ARE TOSSED OUT OF THEIR POSITIONS. ED,SHARON APPLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENIFITS. THE FUNDS ARE THERE AND IS SOMETHING, SANDERS HAS TO CONTRIBUTE TO , WHETHER HE LIKES IT OR NOT. IT IS THE LAW. TO TRY TO DENY UNEMPLOYMENT BENFITS TO ED OR SHARON ,WHO ARE ENTITLED, IS THE ACT OF A LITTLE MAN . I AM CERTAIN MR. SANDERS WONT WELCOME THE NEGATIVE INK , OR A BATTLE WITH THE NEW YORK STATE DEPT. OF LABOR UNEMPLOYMENT DIVISION.
What if there was another facility with a banked track, good lines of sight, with a 4,000 to 6,000 seating capacity, that had ample parking, close to public transportation that was in direct competition with the Armory. Which one would survive? My gut reaction is that the 168th Street Armory would either die a slow death or change. I always thought that the Kingsbridge Armory could provide that facility. It is the largest armory in the world I believe as well as close to train and bus lines and more parking at Lehman College than at the 168th Street Armory.
Granted it would not have the T&F Hall of Fame but then again I wonder how much money does the Hall of Fame bring in and for that matter cause the Armory to shell out?
I know that the 168th Street Armory did not meet ADA guidlines four years ago – no wheelchair athletes or wheelchair visitors can have access to the Hall of Fame’s upper floors nor to the track level w/o being pushed up the ramp past the garbage cans and in the back door like second class citizens. Unless that has changed with the construction of an elevator the Armory has failed in that regard.
Since it is practically the only show in town then it can do what it does almost without impunity. Maybe it is time that a group of concerned citizens organize and start its own 501c3 to counter the mounting frustrations I am hearing from the NYC Track & Field community.
I’d gladly help!
All I can say is that this is an outrage!!
NORB can go you know what himself!
I am boycotting the Armory Track and Field Center from this day on. The armory sure does not care about me or the people that supported me as a 3 time city champion and a All american athelete with the Hoyas. I refuse to support a institution that has taken away the very people that made the armory great. TOM, Robert, Ed, and Sharron. We love you and I know you all will move onto bigger things. Thanks for the love support and guidance throughout the years.
Ezra
ed, sharon and the rest of don’t let anything deter you,you been great in what now appears to be a unknown situation,just remember ed you are still a new york pioneer..
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