By MIKE RUSSO
The shopping center is one of several locations being considered by the Nassau County Police for a new home for the precinct, whose current building on Merrick Road is over 75 years old, falling apart and considered to be inadequate to support a modern police force.
Kevin Lowry, Deputy Chief of Support Division for the Nassau County Police, confirmed that the police are looking at the Rosen Shopping Center, located next to Baldwin High School, as one of several potential locations for the new precinct, but that planning is still in the very early stages and that there are no definite actions taking place as of yet. He said that the police department hopes to provide the First Precinct with a modern design, whether that be at their current location or somewhere else in Baldwin.
"The building is very old and the electrical system wasn't designed to accommodate the level of technology that we have now," said Lowry. [County Executive] Tom Suozzi is committed to giving us an improved facility and committed to keeping it in the Baldwin area."
Many officers in the First Precinct say that their current building is in great need of repairs but have heard rumors of the precinct being moved for years. Suozzi had proposed moving the precinct from Baldwin to Roosevelt several years ago, but that proposal was ultimately defeated when outraged residents, along with Legislator Scannell, vehemently protested the move.
"We've been moving for the past 5 or 6 years," joked one officer, who added that he hasn't heard any definitive plans about a move.
"We've outgrown the usefulness of the building," said Inspector Rick Capece.
According to Scannell, $4 million was approved by the county Legislature in their capital budget for the construction of a new First Precinct building. A few years ago, the county funded an outside contractor to come up with a design for the new precinct, which was intended to be the model for all future county police precincts. In order for the project to move forward, the county must first choose a location for the precinct and then the Legislature must approve the funding for the project.
Scannell supports moving the precinct to the Rosen Shopping Center, claiming it would solve a number of concerns that Baldwin residents have - which include keeping the precinct in Baldwin, preventing high school students from loitering on Grand Avenue, and improving traffic conditions along the street.
According to LouAnn Lima, Scannell's chief of staff, Scannell has been in contact with David Rosen, who owns the shopping center, about Rosen selling some of his stores to make room for the proposed location of the First Precinct. According to Scannell, the floor plans for the design of the First Precinct require two acres of land. The shopping center is six acres, though Scannell said that the location he is pushing for - a strip of vacant stores in the shopping center - is just about two acres. Scannell said that he has heard complaints about the condition of the shopping center from the moment he took office in 1999, ranging from Rosen not keeping the property clean to him always having vacant stores. Rosen wasn't opposed to the idea, so long as he receives fair market value for his property, Lima said.
According to Lima, the high school could provide access to Ethel T. Kloberg Drive, which leads into the school and is also right next to the Rosen Shopping Center, for the precinct's use. The county would also install a traffic light in front of Pathmark, said Lima, which is considered to be a high-accident zone.
"This won't hurt anyone's home and the property is big enough," said Lima. "This is really, really a perfect location."
Scannell said that while the county is also looking at both an antique store and the Huntington Learning Center - both located next to the precinct's current location - those properties are less than two acres and would likely be insufficient for the precinct's design.
While many residents are unaware of any plans to relocate the precinct, most agreed that the most important thing is that the precinct remains in Baldwin.
"If they are going to move it, I prefer it to be moved to [the Rosen Shopping Center]," said Bert Marrero, president of the Pine Street Block Association, a local civic group. "It would be a bigger place and hopefully house more police." Marrero is helping to circulate a petition, now with over 500 signatures, which advocates moving the precinct to that property if they do not remain at their current location.
Lima said that Scannell has met with past commanding officers of the First Precinct as well as the current ones and that they are looking forward to the proposed new precinct.
Lima feels that the Grand Avenue location would be beneficial to everyone, helping to improve security at the high school and cutting down on speeding along the road.
"It cuts off so many issues that would be non-issues now," said Lima. "We would have left [the precinct] where it was, but the building is just falling down around them."
Scannell said that the Nassau County Real Estate Planning and Development office is negotiating with Rosen on the value of his property. A representative reached at that office declined to comment.
Rosen did not return calls to the Herald as of press time.
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
