Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly announced the opening today of a satellite station house in the 105th Precinct in Queens.

“We want to improve police services, including response times in this geographically large precinct, by establishing a satellite station house in the southern portion,” Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said.

Located at 242-40 North Conduit Avenue, the satellite will be used as a base for approximately 40 precinct personnel, responding to calls in the Rosedale and South Springfield Gardens sections of Queens. A desk sergeant will be on duty to take reports of crime, accidents and quality of life violations from residents and others who call or walk into the facility.

The facility is currently the home of the Queens South Task Force and other borough units, which will remain there.

The 105th Precinct encompasses almost 12.7 square miles with 354 miles of roadways, including seven major highways, making it geographically the fourth largest precinct in the City after the 120th, 122nd, and 123rd precincts on Staten Island.

Average response time in the southern end of the precinct of 9.3 minutes is approximately 15% longer than the average response time of 8.1 minutes for the precinct as a whole, and 33% longer than the average citywide response time year-to-date of 7 minutes.

A year after a satellite was established in the 122nd Precinct on Staten Island, the average response time of 11.5 minutes for the precinct plummeted to 5.4 minutes, an improvement of 53%.

Officers reporting out of the satellite station will respond to calls for service in an area bordered by Merrick Boulevard on the north and Rockaway Boulevard on the south.

Overall crime, year-to-date, is down 2% in the precinct, and down 20% compared to the same period in 2001.