Nassau to build new police station in Baldwin

Scrapping plans from the previous administration, Nassau County lawmakers have agreed to purchase property across the street from the dilapidated First Precinct building in Baldwin for construction of a new police station.

Republicans say the new plan, which includes dead-ending Harrison Avenue at the precinct house on Merrick Road, will save taxpayers nearly $10 million - and the county will own the building.

Under the plan developed by the administration of former County Executive Thomas Suozzi and touted by Legis. Joseph Scannell (D-Baldwin) during his re-election campaign last year, the county would have leased part of a strip-shopping center from a private landlord to build a new station house, pay rent and property taxes for 30 years, after which ownership of the station house would revert to the private landlord.

"Shame on those who attempt to saddle the taxpayers with sweetheart deals," said presiding officer Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa), who held a news conference Tuesday at the First Precinct. He praised County Executive Edward Mangano for the new plan."

Members of the legislature's Rules Committee voted unanimously Monday to purchase the site of an antiques store, across Harrison Street from the First Precinct, from owner Peter N. Dilg for $1 million - higher than county-appraised value of $790,000, but lower than the asking price of $1.1 million. The purchase is expected to go to the full legislature for approval on Monday.

The new precinct building would be built on the antiques store site. When completed in about a year, the old station house would be demolished and turned into a parking lot. The Town of Hempstead, Schmitt said, has agreed to dead-end Harrison at Merrick to combine the two sites and provide additional parking. The total cost of purchase and construction is about $13,075,000, Schmitt said.

, adding this was "his original plan," but the Suozzi precinct design did not fit at the site and the Town of Hempstead wasn't cooperative about dead-ending the street.Under Suozzi's plan, the county would have paid private landlord Grand Baldwin Associates more than a half-million dollars to select contractors and supervise construction of a new precinct building in the shopping center at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Ethel T. Kloberg Drive.

The county also would have paid all costs of demolition, construction and furnishing of the new building as well as rent and one-third of the shopping center's taxes, for a projected total cost of $22.9 million. The lame-duck Democratic majority last year approved that plan over objections of Republican lawmakers and incoming executive Mangano.

By CELESTE HADRICK
Posted Wednesday, December 15, 2010

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