Construction has begun on a new station-house for the 40th Precinct at 567 East 149th Street, at the corner of St. Ann’s Avenue.
Officials say the building, which according to the mayor’s office was designed by “a firm in the DDC’s Design and Construction Excellence program,” will be completed in the spring of 2021 at a cost of $68 million.
According to the NYPD the 42,000-square-foot facility will be the city’s first station-house with community rooms to host neighborhood events and meetings.
In addition, there will be areas for officer training and for physical fitness, space for storage and maintenance of gear and vehicles, and fuel tanks and backup generators to keep the building operational in the event of a power loss.
The building will include numerous environmental sustainability measures such as a planted green roof to reduce stormwater runoff, one-third less potable water usage than comparable buildings, high-efficiency fixtures and control systems to reduce energy usage by over ten percent, and cooling systems designed to operate without ozone depleting, CFC-based refrigerants.
“Today, we’re one step closer to fulfilling the pledge we made to the people of the South Bronx four years ago: To build a new, state-of-the-art NYPD facility that belongs to this community like no other station house in the city,” said NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill in a statement. “This is critical, because Neighborhood Policing and the shared responsibility of public safety in our city require us to come together.”
“As the former president of the 41st Precinct Community Council, I know firsthand how positive community and police relations can have on improving public safety,” said City Councilman Rafael Salamanca Jr., whose district the new building will be located in, adding that the presence of a station-house in the new location will boost “much-needed resources, especially near The Hub, which is ground zero for the opioid crisis in my district.”
Gabriel DeJesus, longtime president of the 40th Precinct Community Council, said that the new location will benefit an area that needs it while also making life easier on officers working at the current location at E. 138 Street and Alexander Avenue.
“We’re ecstatic it’s actually happening after 20 years of waiting,” said De Jesus. “These are good changes. It’s coming to an area that’s having so many problems,” in the vicinity of St. Mary’s Park, where intravenous drug users and discarded syringes have become the norm.
One longtime police officer from the 40th Precinct, who was not authorized to speak to the press, said it’s high time for the change. Officers are “motivated and eager” for the new building, he said, adding that current conditions are “very cramped” for the roughly 300 who work in the E. 138 Street building.
City officials have said that the NYPD will continue to use the old station-house, although in what capacity remains unclear.
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