State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) this week applauded the dedication of Borough President Melinda Katz after she named the creation of a new police precinct to cover the northeastern part of the borough as one of her top budget priorities for the 2015 fiscal year.
The creation of a 116th Precinct was included in a list of budget priorities that was unanimously approved by the Borough Board at a budget meeting earlier this month. The new precinct would split the 105th Precinct in half and take over the southeastern part of the area to alleviate some of the stress.
The 105th is one of the largest precincts in the city, covering Queens Village, Cambria Heights, Laurelton, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Bellerose, Glen Oaks, New Hyde Park and Floral Park. Lawmakers and community members have fought in the past for funding that would divide the precinct’s responsibilities to reduce response times over such a large coverage area.
“The sheer size of the 105th Precinct and the lack of resources that all the precincts in New York City are currently facing presents a very good case for the creation of a new police precinct to better address the rising population in Queens,” said Avella, who has been pushing for the split since his time in the City Council.
Avella introduced legislation in 2011 that called for the division of the 105th and 109th precincts, which covers the northern areas of the borough in Flushing, East Flushing, Queensboro Hill, College Point, Malba, Whitestone, Beechurst and Bay Terrace. His bill would have split the 109th into two precincts, one dedicated strictly to Flushing and another to take over the remaining area.
Though the NYPD is a city-run agency, Avella’s office said the Senate does have the power to amend its administrative code and call for the split, but the bill would most likely need support from the City Council before being voted on in the Senate.
While the item included in Katz’s budget priorities speaks only of the 105th, unlike Avella’s legislation, the senator said he is still pleased to see that the proposal is finally making progress among other city leaders.
3 comments:
Community Board and Police precincts should be coterminous with city council districts so voters know who to blame.
Anon No. 1
They are coterminous with Community Boards. In the case of Community Board No. 13 and the 105th Precinct, that's the problem. Both start up by Glen Oaks, and wind up under the Belt Parkway, by Kennedy Airport. It too much land to cover.
Its a good idea, and one that should be implemented, however to acquire land, build a new precinct, outfit it, and get everything running, all together will probably cost close to 1 billion dollars.
This isn't exactly a police friendly city that wants to see money like that spent on the police, and the current administration has made it clear that they are quite anti police. They would much rather spend the money on "progressive ideas".
That's the reason why it will never happen.
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