It’s not quite a new precinct, but for many south Queens residents, it’s close enough.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced on Friday that the 105th Precinct’s Satellite office in Rosedale is stronger than ever, with a 24-hour schedule and expanded staffing. As of Feb. 23, the satellite now has an additional 18 officers and two sergeants.
The NYPD opened the 105th Precinct Satellite at 242-40 North Conduit Ave. in 2007 adjacent to the Rosedale Long Island Rail Road station. The goal of the satellite was to address law enforcement needs in the 105th Precinct, which is the fourth-largest precinct geographically in the entire city.
Though it covers a geographic area of southeast Queens that’s about half the size of Manhattan Island, the actual 105th Precinct headquarters is located on the northern end of the precinct in Queens Village. For years, residents in Laurelton, Rosedale and Springfield Gardens have asked the city to create a new 116th Precinct out of the southern area of the 105th Precinct’s confines.
“The expanded coverage at the 105th Precinct Satellite will create a full-time police substation in the southern area of the command,” Bratton said. “By providing a 24-hour presence, the community will enjoy the benefits of more locally available police resources.”
Before it was made a 24-hour operation, the satellite was only open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Councilman Donovan Richards said the additional officers “will be welcomed with open arms and now the doors of this precinct won’t be closed during the hours when most crimes are committed.”
“Our pleas for help have finally been answered as our communities and NYPD officers are finally getting the resources we have been calling for, year after year,” Richards said.
Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman called the satellite expansion “a major victory for the residents” of her district, while state Senator Leroy Comrie noted that “this enhancement is critical to allowing for faster response times by our officers.”
Even so, there were hints that the fight to create a 116th Precinct would continue. State Senator James Sanders remarked that the satellite expansion was “a step in the right direction” after lamenting that the district “did not get the additional police precinct that we have been asking for.”
Councilman Barry Grodenchik, while also praising the increase in satellite resources, indicated that he has submitted a City Council resolution calling on the police commissioner to create a new precinct concentrated on the southern area of the 105th Precinct.
“The precinct’s area extends from Queens Village to JFK Airport, an area that is too large for just one precinct,” he said.
