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NYPD and District Attorney Eyeing Sunset Park Building for Evidence Storage

By Leslie Albrecht | May 5, 2015 3:27pm | Updated on May 5, 2015 6:08pm
 The NYPD and Manhattan District Attorney want to lease space for evidence and records storage in a former industrial warehouse on Second Avenue in Sunset Park.
The NYPD and Manhattan District Attorney want to lease space for evidence and records storage in a former industrial warehouse on Second Avenue in Sunset Park.
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Commodore Manufacturing Corporation

SUNSET PARK — Parts of a former Christmas ornament warehouse could be converted into an evidence and records storage facility for the NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney's office, officials said.

The NYPD plans to lease 93,000 square feet and the DA's office wants 96,000 square feet inside a massive industrial warehouse at 4312 Second Avenue near 43rd Street.

The two agencies already rent some space in the building, which is also used by the Board of Elections to stash voting machines, said building co-owner Gary Damast.

“It’s a very secure building and very well maintained,” Damast said. “It’s probably one of the most desirable buildings in this area.”

The District Attorney's office currently occupies 76,000 square feet on a month-to-month basis. It wants to take over another 20,000 square feet and sign a long-term lease, a spokeswoman said. The amount the city will pay is still being finalized, the spokeswoman said.

The city's Department of Citywide Administrative Services found the spot for the DA's office in 2012 after the city asked the DA's office to relocate from the Brooklyn Municipal Building, the spokeswoman said.

The NYPD did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The 1917 structure takes up an entire city block and was once a factory that made Campbell's soup cans. The Damast family's Commodore Manufacturing Corporation bought the buiding in the 1990s and used it to store holiday decorations imported from factories around the world.

Commodore still uses part of the 600,000-square-foot building, but advances in how inventory is shipped around the world mean the company no longer needs such a big storage site, Damast said.

The industrial warehouse is in a "newly hip" area, according to The Real Deal. It's not far from Industry City, the complex of industrial spaces that houses food makers, artists, and dance parties.

Community Board 7 will hold a public hearing on May 6 at 6:30 p.m. at 4201 Fourth Ave. about the NYPD and Manhattan District Attorney's plans.