CORONA — Politicians are pushing the mayor and governor to fund an NYPD precinct at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the fourth-largest greenspace in the city.
State Sen. Jose Peralta, Assemblyman Francisco Moya and Rep. Joe Crowley sent letters Thursday to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio requesting that they move forward with implementing a satellite outpost for the 110th Precinct, which currently patrols the area from its station house at 94-41 43rd Ave.
Officials said the park is bigger than Central Park, which has its own precinct, but travel time for officers to get from the 110th station house to the park can be more than 20 minutes in traffic.
“This delay detracts from effective police response times and places residents and visitors in the way of harm,” the letters said.
Officials also asked the mayor and governor to fund an upgrade for the decades-old 110th Precinct station house.
They estimate it would cost $70 million to renovate. It's not clear how much a new satellite precinct station house would cost.
"The actual structure is in a state of blatant disrepair as it hasn’t seen a substantial renovation since" it was built in 1940, Peralta said.
The precinct doesn't look much different from when it made a cameo in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Wrong Man," shot there in the mid-1950s.
Members of Community Board 4, which has pushed for a new 110th Precinct station house for decades, said the renovations are necessary for public safety and the safety of the officers at the 110th Precinct.
"Our officers deserve better, our community deserves better and, with this kind of support, we hope to finally see these requests come to fruition,” said Louis Walker, the board's chairman.
