Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano is willing to re-open the police department’s 6th Precinct, a source close to the administration said Tuesday.
“Yes, he would be open to it if the unions came to the table to ensure residents continue to save tax dollars by relaxing staffing requirements,” the source said, confirming a recent report in Newsday.
Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, who opposed the merger of the 6th Precinct with the 3rd Precinct as a county legislator, said she was encouraged by Mangano’s willingness to return to the original precincts.
“The recent news that the County Executive is now willing to consider re-opening the Sixth Police Precinct is a positive step forward,” Bosworth said. “The 2014 merger of the 6th and 3rd precincts has not delivered the cost savings that was promised and residents believe that their safety has been compromised. Our taxpayers, who pay some of the highest property taxes in the country, deserve better. I look forward to engaging in an open dialogue with the County Executive on this issue as he takes another look at the this failed consolidation plan.”
Mangano’s spokesman, Brian Nevin, said there are no current plans to bring back the 6th Precinct but the administration would discuss the issue if the three police unions are willing to lift the minimum manning requirement in relation to administrative jobs.
The 2012 planned merger of eight precincts into four consolidated the 6th into the 3rd Precinct.
The remaining buildings after the merger were converted to lightly staffed policing centers and the action was supposed to save the county $20 million annually, officials said at the time.
Nassau County Legislator Ellen Birnbaum said she doesn’t believe there have been real savings for taxpayers.
“This past December I met with Acting Police Commissioner Krumpter to voice my dissatisfaction with the merged 3rd and 6th precincts,” she said. “I, along with many other elected officials, have questioned the cost savings in the police precinct consolidation plan that was enacted in 2012 by County Executive Mangano.”
Richard Bentley, president of the Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations, said he believes the merging of the Third and Sixth Precincts “has proven to be ineffective.”
“Promised savings have never materialized and residents are left with a current merged precinct that is far too large to provide effective levels of police protection and enforcement,” Bentley said. “While we thank the men and women of our Nassau police force for doing their finest job every day, and all give thanks that Nassau’s more serious crime stats are down, the merger has left too few resources stretched far too thin to battle quality of life issues our communities face every day. The merged precinct stretches from the Queens border to Glen Head and south to East Meadow.’’
He added, “Many residents chose to call Nassau their home because of its historical better quality of life and policing quality of life issues remains a primary responsibility of our Nassau County government, and we have raised the awareness of our County Executive and Legislature in both political parties and we await their timely action.”
A concerted effort to return the 6th Precinct to its former status began with a letter by the Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations to Mangano and Krumpter earlier this year.
Although crime in the area of the 6th precinct is down 12 percent since 2011, recent countywide increases in residential burglaries and robberies have frightened some residents, officials said.
“Quality of life issues are not receiving the same attention as they had before the merger,” Birnbaum said.
Krumpter said it would cost $5 million a year to pay 25 officers in administrative roles to reopen the 6th precinct.
“I am hopeful that the County Executive has understood our concerns and is taking the first steps toward reopening the 6th Precinct,” Birnbaum said. “I am asking Acting Commissioner Krumpter to take a hard look at the budget and figure out how to fully staff the precinct so that it can once again be fully operational. Public safety should be our highest priority here in Nassau County.”
“It’s a falsehood to give anyone the impression that Nassau County’s going to be a safer place because you have an extra ten people behind a desk doing a job that can be done anywhere throughout this county,” Nevin said.
