News

Nassau County’s 4th, 5th precincts merged

Police station headquartered in Hewlett; fifth now a community policing center

Posted

The Nassau County Police Department’s 4th and 5th precincts officially merged on Sept. 14. The merger was initially scheduled for Sept. 1 but was delayed to allow for the installment of trailers that will house additional manpower, vehicles and equipment at 4th Precinct headquarters in Hewlett.

The 5th Precinct building on Dutch Broadway in Elmont will be converted into what county officials are calling a “community policing center.” The precinct served Elmont, Franklin Square, Garden City South, Lakeview, Lynbrook, Malverne, South Floral Park, Valley Stream and West Hempstead.

The 4th Precinct, at 199 Broadway in Hewlett, serves the Five Towns, Atlantic Beach, East Rockaway, Bay Park, Grant Park, Hewlett Harbor, Island Park, Lido Beach, Long Beach, Oceanside, Point Lookout and Woodsburgh.

The merger is the second to take place in a countywide plan Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano has said will save the county $20 million. The 2nd and 8th precincts were consolidated in May and the 7th and 1st precincts are scheduled to be combined in November.

The trailers, each of which measures approximately 1,250 square feet, will be connected to the precinct headquarters by a vestibule. It is unclear how many trailers there will be, but they will cost $150,000 each, according to the NCPD’s first deputy commissioner, Thomas Krumpter.

Krumpter insists that the merger would not impact police patrols. “This is a realignment plan,” he said. “Residents will benefit from specialized units being housed at our policing centers, and the resources currently assigned to the 5th Precinct will be transferred to the 4th.”

The trailers will be mounted on foundations and have heating, air conditioning and bathrooms. To process an increased number of prisoners, space will be expanded inside the precinct building.

The countywide merger plan, which will halve the number of precincts from eight to four, is expected to save the county $20 million. Krumpter and County Executive Ed Mangano have said that the fleet of patrol cars will remain unchanged, at 177. But the plan also calls for a reduction of more than 100 police officers and the reassignment of 48 more.

Page 1 / 2