1st Precinct project set to begin

Following months of delays, plan will move forward

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Last September, Nassau County and county Police Department officials addressed residents at a Baldwin Civic Association meeting about the construction project planned for the 1st Precinct in Baldwin. In November, County Executive Ed Mangano and local community leaders broke ground at the site, but since then the project has been snagged. Now, however, it looks like the work is finally ready to begin.

According to Mike Martino, spokesman for the county’s Department of Public Works, it took longer than expected for the county to close on the Huntington Learning Center property, which is adjacent to the current 1st Precinct headquarters, on Merrick Road. The county officially did so last week. On Monday, Martino added that the demolition process at the Huntington Learning Center was expected to begin this week.

The plan calls for a new, three-story precinct headquarters to be built on the site, at Merrick Road and Harrison Avenue. After years of proposals and discussions, the county decided to purchase the Huntington Learning Center property to gain more space, and to preserve the Kellogg House, on the opposite corner of Merrick and Harrison, as a community center.

When plans for the precinct were unveiled last year, Ken Arnold, of the county DPW, said the first floor would be the main interface between the police and the community, the second floor would house squad rooms and clerical facilities, and the third floor would be used primarily for the building’s mechanical systems, like climate control and electrical.

Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter has said the need for a new precinct in Baldwin is critical. Last year he made that necessity crystal clear, saying, “No one’s allowed on the third floor, because they’d go through the floor.”

Martino said that the project will cost about $13 million, and should take 18 months to complete.

“Like so many in our community, I’m eager to see this project get under way,” said County Legislator Laura Curran, a Democrat from Baldwin. “It’s been a long time coming, and I’m delighted that our community — and our police officers — will soon get the modern, state-of-the-art precinct they deserve.”

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