PHOTO: Area elected officials and community leaders are calling for the renovation of the 110th Precinct stationhouse and the construction of a Precinct Satellite Station at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. File Photo
By Michael V. Cusenza
With the target 76-year-old edifice as a backdrop, elected officials and civic leaders last Thursday demanded the “substantial renovation” of the 110th Precinct’s Corona stationhouse and the construction of a Precinct Satellite Station in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens and Bronx), Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights) announced that they have sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio encouraging them to support funding for the two projects.
“For far too long, our community’s police officers have been working in subpar conditions at the 110th Precinct’s dilapidated stationhouse,” the missive reads in part. “We must act to support these professionals with the proper facilities that they need in order to best carry out their duties.”
The officials noted that the 43rd Avenue building “hasn’t undergone any major renovations” since it opened its doors in January 1940.
“We owe it to the men and women who we entrust to keep us safe, to provide them with the proper resources to effectively carry out their jobs,” Crowley said. “For the officers of the NYPD’s 110th Precinct in Corona, that means being able to work out of a facility that’s up to standards as well as from a strategically placed substation to better fight crime within their jurisdiction, which includes the second-largest park in the city. Allowing the 110th Precinct stationhouse to fall into further disrepair is not fair to them and it’s not fair to the people they are sworn to protect. I’m pleased to join Senator Peralta and Assemblyman Moya in this effort as we work toward addressing these critical public safety needs in our own community.”
The complete renovation of the stationhouse, according to the officials, will cost approximately $70 million.
Additionally, in light of what the pols characterized as “increasing crime and gang activity,” they called for the financial support for the construction of a Precinct Satellite Station in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the fourth-largest public park in the city. According to city Police Department statistics, last year there were 48 serious crimes reported at the 897-acre green space, including eight felony assaults and seven robberies.
The elected representatives noted in the letter that FMCP is also home to Citi Field, the US Open, the Queens Museum, the Queens Zoo, Queens Theater in the Park and the New York Hall of Science.
michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
