Bethpage — Nassau County Executive Laura Curran today announced the reopening of Nassau County’s 8th Police Precinct with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, seven years after the precinct’s closure during the previous administration.
The reopening of the precinct adds staff and services to enhance the county’s successful community policing initiative, which focuses on pro-active crime prevention and quality-of-life strategies. Earlier this week the 6th Precinct in Manhasset was reopened and restored to full-service after a similar seven-year shutdown.
“It’s time to give our community and our police officers the precinct they deserve,” County Executive Curran said. “Last week we announced the reopening of the Sixth Precinct in Manhasset. Today we are reopening the 8th Precinct here in Bethpage. These precincts will enhance our community policing, an essential part of how we serve and protect our county.”
Commissioner of Police Patrick Ryder announced the appointment of Inspector Thomas Corona to serve as Commanding Officer of the 8th Precinct. “I am pleased to announce that in the past week, the Nassau County Police Department has been able to reopen both of our closed precincts with the full support of County Executive Curran,’’ he said.
“The 8th Precinct in Bethpage is officially open today to serve our residents and continue our long-standing reputation as one of the most service orientated police departments in the country which brings back the community policing model to the local communities. Our precinct doors are always open to speak with our police officers, supervisors and POP officers, which in turn keeps those lines of communication open with our entire community. Over the course of time when both precincts were closed, we have continued to assign the same personnel to patrol posts and crime in both areas has declined to historic lows due to the dedication and hard work of our department members. I am proud to announce that Inspector Thomas Corona will be the Commanding Officer of the 8th Precinct and he will continue our beliefs and values that guide our department as Loyalty, Integrity, Fairness and Excellence.”
State Senator Kevin Thomas said, “County Executive Laura Curran and Commissioner Ryder showed strong leadership in reopening the 8th Police Precinct in Levittown. Community policing has been the key to bringing police and citizens together in Nassau to prevent crime and build a vibrant and safe community. The reopening of the 8th Precinct will allow our law enforcement to get a better sense of residents’ needs, improve public safety and lower response times. As a Levittown resident, I welcome our brave officers to the neighborhood.”
County Legislature Minority Caucus Kevan Abrahams said, “Local precincts are a valuable resource and a source of community pride, and reopening the Sixth and Eighth Precincts marks the end of a misguided consolidation plan. I thank my colleagues in the Legislature and County Executive Curran for their commitment to community policing across the County."
The precinct at 299 Hicksville Road serves Bethpage, Levittown, Plainview, and Farmingdale. The building was recognized for outstanding design in January by the national the Precast Concrete Institute, one of only three projects in the county to receive the Institute’s highest honor.
Despite the outstanding design, the building was never utilized to its full potential as an operating precinct, a fixture in the life of the community.
The widely praised problem-oriented policing deployment, or POP, is among the initiatives returning to the restored Eighth Precinct command. This proven program assigns officers to work closely with community leaders, business owners, and residents – particularly young people. Officers focus on crime prevention, safety issues, traffic hazards, graffiti complaints, among many other quality-of-life issues.
“As I have said before, community policing is part of Nassau’s DNA,’’ the county executive said. “We do it better here than anywhere else---thanks to hard work, dedication, and commitment of the men and women of our police department.” Under Ryder's leadership, Nassau “is one of the safest counties of its size in the nation," she said.
Curran thanked the members of the county legislature for their bipartisan efforts in support of reopening both precincts.
She also thanked the Department of Public Works staff for their efforts in preparing both facilities as fully operational precincts.
