Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Design and Construction Commissioner David J. Burney, AIA, today broke ground on the new Central Park Precinct station house, which will serve the 840-acre expanse of Central Park from its historic location off the 86th Street Transverse. The ground-breaking kicks off a $45 million restoration, expansion and modernization project that will result in a 2,300-square-foot larger station house for the Central Park Precinct, also known as the NYPD's 22nd Precinct - where crime is down more than 12% since 2001. The project, which is slated for completion in the spring of 2010, includes state-of-the-art technology upgrades and new operational space. The Mayor and Commissioners were joined at the ground-breaking by Captain Timothy J. Beaudette, Commanding Officer of the Central Park Precinct.

"Day in, day out, the men and women of the NYPD put themselves on the line to keep our City safe," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Giving our first responders a clean, comfortable place to work is an important part of this effort - which is why we've committed $45 million to bring the Central Park Precinct into the 21st Century, while also preserving the 19th Century details that give the building its character and landmark status."

"For three-quarters of a century the Police Department's presence in the old station house has allowed the public to enjoy Central Park in safety," Commissioner Kelly said. "Once the renovation is complete, officers who are assigned here will benefit from a work environment that accommodates both public safety and the demands of aesthetics and historical sensitivity."

"This historic restoration is a vivid example of adaptive re-use of a facility that started out as stable sheds and will be a police precinct with the latest technological advances," said Commissioner Burney. "We have worked closely with the Landmarks Preservation Commission and Department of Parks and Recreation on a facility that will serve the public for decades to come."

The Central Park Precinct station house was built in 1871 and served as a stable before it became a police facility in 1936. Keeping its location in mid-Central Park, the original landmarked building will be transformed into a state-of-the-art facility complete with computer and communications technology, new operational space that will provide officers with improved staging areas, arrest processing and interview rooms, as well as video conferencing capability and centralized air conditioning.

An existing courtyard, once used for moving and organizing carts and horses, will be outfitted with a new lobby and main desk and will serve as a focal point for the new station house. The temporary facility out of which precinct personnel temporarily work will be demolished and used as a parking lot.