FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE03-73
November
26, 2003
Contact:
Ian Michaels
(718) 595-6600
New
DEP Police Precinct Opens In Grahamsville
Commissioner Christopher O. Ward of the New York City Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) today marked the opening of the Department’s new
police precinct stationhouse in Grahamsville with a ribbon-cutting ceremony
at the new building at the intersection of Routes 42 and 55.
The Department also opened a second building in Grahamsville today for
engineering and land management offices, including a steam-cleaning facility
for boats. Continuing its partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
following security threats related to the September 11th attacks, the
Corps performed the bulk of the design work for the new buildings and
acted as construction manager for the project.
“The new buildings at Grahamsville will allow us to better serve
the region and to react more quickly to any threats to the water supply,”
said Commissioner Ward. “We also work closely with local law enforcement
agencies throughout the watershed to supplement the important work they
do. We look forward to our continued cooperation with Sullivan County
officials to maintain a safe, secure and clean environment.”
The Department of Environmental Protection will hold a Community Day
at the precinct on November 29, from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Refreshments
will be served as local residents get to meet officers and members of
the DEP Division of Environmental Police. Representatives from the police
canine unit, emergency services unit, scuba unit and detective bureau
will be on hand to answer questions and provide information about the
unique mission of “environmental policing.”
The new $2.2 million, one-story, brick precinct stationhouse will house
the DEP Environmental Enforcement Division’s 4th Precinct, including
the Detective Bureau and Intelligence Division for West of Hudson watershed
areas. Approximately 25 environmental police officers and two civilian
staff members will be assigned to the building, which will serve as a
base of operations for DEP Environmental Enforcement Officers 24-hours-a-day.
Construction on the new building began in August 2001.
Grahamsville is the first of five new police precinct stationhouses
the DEP will be dedicating in the next few months in the Catskill/Delaware
watershed area. Other facilities are scheduled to open soon in Olive,
Beerston, Gilboa and Downsville.
The DEP Police has over 200 environmental police officers serving in
New York City and nine watershed counties. Charged primarily with protecting
the water supply that nine million New Yorkers rely on every day, the
DEP Police also supplement local police agencies in their day-to-day activities
of community service and public protection.