5th Precinct consolidation delay should not affect 1st

Delays affecting the consolidation of the 5th Precinct in Elmont with the 4th in Hewlett are not expected to push back the scheduled merger of Baldwin’s 1st Precinct into Seaford’s 7th on Nov. 1.

The delay in Hewlett arose because of the need to erect outbuildings to accommodate overflow when the busy 5th and 4th precincts are combined, Thomas Krumpter, first deputy commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department, said last week. Krumpter explained that the consolidated precinct would be forced to house more officers, prisoners and staff, and that overcrowding could be a problem. To alleviate this, the department plans to set up permanent modular buildings, at a reported cost of around $150,000 each. The new structures were referred to as “trailers” in discussions, and will measure around 1,300 square feet. According to NCPD Inspector Kenneth Lack, they will be used for police staff, not prisoners, who will still be processed in the sturdier main buildings.

While Krumpter said last week that a similar expansion would be undertaken when the Baldwin and Seaford stations are combined on Nov. 1, he added that no delays were

predicted.

“It won’t affect the merger,” Lack told the Herald. “It will affect the accommodations of the officers, but once we get the outbuilding set up, that should be taken care of.”

The Elmont-Hewlett merger was the third of four consolidations the NCPD has undertaken to cut costs. The first was completed on May 1, when Levittown’s 8th Precinct moved into Woodbury’s 2nd. The 3rd Precinct, in Williston Park, was absorbed by the 6th, in Manhasset, on July 1. When it is finished, the Baldwin-Seaford unification will complete a sweeping streamlining of police services.

Lack added that the construction of a community policing center in Baldwin is still on schedule.