Rendering of new 40th Precinct Station House. Image credit: Mayor’s Office.
New NYPD facility hopes to bring the community and the police department together. On July 10, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the start of construction for the new state-of-the-art facility for the 40th Precinct Station House. The new precinct will be located at 567 East 149th Street, at the corner of St. Anne’s Avenue in the South Bronx. The project will cost $68 million and is projected to be completed in spring 2021. The 40th Precinct Station House was designed by a firm in the Department of Design and Construction’s Design and Construction Excellence program.
The new 40th Precinct Station House will be 42,000 square feet and includes the first ever community space for events and meetings in an NYPD facility. The facility will also have areas for officer training and physical fitness and space for storage and maintenance of gear and vehicles.
Building’s design will meet requirements for LEED Silver certification for environmental sustainability and incorporate several sustainable features like a planted green roof to help reduce stormwater runoff. The building will also use one-third less potable water than comparable buildings, include high-efficiency fixtures and control systems to reduce energy usage over ten percent, and not use CFC-based refrigerants for the cooling systems.
Mayor de Blasio said: “While crime is at a record low in New York City, there is still more work to do to ensure that every New Yorker feels safe in their neighborhood. This new precinct will strengthen the bond between community and police, which will ultimately help make the South Bronx and our City safer.”
Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: 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. This is critical, because Neighborhood Policing and the shared responsibility of public safety in our city require us to come together. We’re on this path together, and we’re thrilled that this neighborhood will finally get the station house it needs, and the access to its police department it deserves.”
By: Dorichel Rodriguez (Dorichel is the CityLaw Fellow and a New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2017.)