The Port Washington Police District (PWPD) is proud to announce that it has closed on the property for its new headquarters to be located at 128 Main Street (the site of the former Knowles Funeral Home). The 1.47-acre parcel, conveniently located in the heart of Port Washington, will provide many added benefits to the community while providing modern accommodations required of today’s police departments.
“This is a major milestone and the first of many, many steps to make the new, long-overdue headquarters a reality for this beloved community and police district,” said PWPD Chairperson Angela Lawlor-Mullins. “We have a mountain of work ahead of us, but we are thrilled to have cleared this hurdle so we can focus our energy on the design of the facility and the overall site.”
Now that PWPD has ownership of the property, residents will notice that preliminary clean-up of the property has been completed, with overgrowth and trash being removed from the vacant property. In the coming weeks, residents will also see a new perimeter fence be installed for security and safety. In the weeks following the fence installation, preliminary site work will occur and involve demolishing the currently vacant, blighted homes lining the southern portion of the property.
“We said from the onset of this project that we are committed to transparency and a major component of that is keeping the community updated throughout the process, especially when activity is happening on the site,” said PWPD Commissioner JB Meyer. “While we are still working to solidify what this building is ultimately going to look like, we have started to conceptualize the site layout so we can begin all of the ground and environmental reviews to follow.”
For the past several weeks, the PWPD board of commissioners have been meeting with their engineering consultants, H2M architects+engineers, to better understand what the footprint of the building will be on the property. The District is also committed to having entry and exit points on Main Street and Mackey Avenue and plans to install a large natural buffer along Webster Avenue to minimize the visual impact to neighbors adjacent to the property. Once an initial site plan has been completed, the District looks forward to sharing it with the community.
“This building is going to be a staple in our community for generations to come so it is crucial that we do our due diligence to get this right and provide a facility that meets our needs and the expectations of our residents,” said PWPD Commissioner Sean McCarthy. “We look forward to sharing our initial building design and overall sight plan with the community in the months ahead.”
More About the Project
The current police headquarters has reached the end of its useful life. Originally built in 1958 to accommodate 35 officers and staff, the facility has undergone several renovations and expansions over the years—with a third-party study being completed in the 1990s determining a new facility was needed. The District currently has a workforce of 80, including uniformed officers and support staff, who are crammed into spaces designed for less than half as many individuals. The original headquarters was also not designed anticipating the technology and electrical needs of a modern facility nor was it designed to be ADA compliant.
The new headquarters is being specifically designed as an LEED certified structure to ensure it is as green and sustainable as possible. Aside from providing adequate spaces for officers and staff, the new facility will also feature a much-needed multi-purpose room, which will be used to host District meetings, trainings and community events for small- to mid-sized gatherings. Parking and vehicle storage has also been a perennial issue with the existing facility, but the new facility will boast ample space for both the storage of District vehicles and equipment as well as parking for the community.
For more information about the Port Washington Police District and the plans to build a new headquarters in the community, please visit portwashingtonpd.ny.gov/new-pwpd-hq/. Residents who have questions about this project or are interested in taking a tour of the existing headquarters to see the need for a new facility themselves are encouraged to contact [email protected].
—Submitted by the
Port Washington Police District
