After decades of advocacy, the 116th Precinct in Queens is finally open.
Mayor Eric Adams, local elected officials, NYPD officials, and community leaders gathered at the precinct, located at 244-04 North Conduit Ave. in Rosedale, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
The new precinct covers the neighborhoods of Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Brookville, Laurelton, and the southern portion of Cambria Heights.
The stationhouse is over 45,000 square feet and includes a community meeting room on the first floor. It is the second NYPD facility to provide a community meeting space with furniture, a kitchenette, and other features. The building also has a muster room, front desk, booking, processing, detention areas, common areas, and a private stress-reduction room. Outside the precinct is a public plaza that has outdoor seating, bike racks, and a water fountain. Additionally, to the right of the building is access to the Rosedale Long Island Railroad Station.
The building has energy-efficient features, including the outside lighting in the plaza and a parking lot with electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and fuel pumps for other NYPD vehicles. The precinct’s roof also features solar panels, and due to all of its energy-efficient capabilities, it was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Sustainability Certification. The facility is also fully compliant with the ADA.
Dattner Architects designed the nearly $105 million project under DDC’s Design and Construction Excellence program.
The southern portion of the 105th Precinct and parts of the 113th Precinct have been incorporated into the new precinct, which is split into three sectors.
Jean Sony Beauvoir, former captain and commanding officer of the 105th Precinct, has assumed the role of commanding officer of the 116th Precinct.
Beauvoir has a lengthy tenure with the NYPD. He started on the force in 2007, and throughout his career, he has worked out of Brooklyn North, Transit District 33, Internal Affairs, and the 70th Precinct. In 2021, Beauvoir was promoted to captain and went to the 100th Precinct to serve as the executive officer—second in command—for a year. Beauvoir then served as executive officer of the 105th Precinct until late 2023, when he was elevated to commanding officer of the 105th Precinct.
Dozens of NYPD officers were at the event to celebrate the grand opening and Beauvoir’s assumption of the role of commanding office.
With his experience serving southeastern Queens, Beauvoir told QNS that he is well-equipped to understand the problems community members face. Beauvoir said that he is aware that one of the biggest challenges is response times, which can now be addressed with the opening of the 116th precinct. He said, however, that the work is not over.
“We now have a new precinct, but as everyone has pointed out, the work doesn’t end here,” he said. “It’s not enough to just have a precinct; we need to ensure it is staffed with the right personnel who are well-prepared and equipped to do their jobs effectively in the community.”
With officers coming from other parts of the city to work at the 116th precinct, Beauvoir said it is vital for them to “understand what’s at stake.” He said that during orientation for all transferees, he and Borough Commander Kevin Williams underscored the importance of meeting the needs of the local community.“The building is here, but it’s just a building at the end of the day. It’s the people who have to respond in the field…we have to make sure they understand what we’re requiring from them,” he said.
Many Laurelton and Rosedale locals expressed their excitement about Beauvoir assuming his role as the commanding officer of the 116th precinct. Takbir Blake, a Laurelton resident and community advocate, spoke to Beauvoir’s character.
Blake said that during a chance encounter in a coffee shop, he told Beauvoir about his sons’ podcast, Young Informed Media, which covers topics ranging from social to educational issues. Blake said Beauvoir was impressed by the duo’s content and was a guest interviewee with his sons earlier this year.
“They drew up their own original questions from a kid’s point of view…advice you could give children who are growing up in the community to relate to the police,” Blake said, adding that it was a “beautiful experience” seeing Beauvoir be a role model to his sons.
He added that for his sons, as young Black men, it was necessary to see another Black man as a police officer, especially with the stigmas that go with police and the Black community. “They wanted to be able to bring that message back to their peers in the classroom of different tips and things…to show how to empower yourself, not just be fearful of things you see on the media,” Blake said. “It was a very powerful interview. It was very impactful for them, and they appreciated the role he played in taking the time to sit down with the youth and talk to them.”
Elected officials who had long been advocates for the 116th precinct felt happy that their dreams of the precinct had finally come to fruition.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards told QNS that having community-centered spaces in the precinct, including a food pantry, community room, and plaza, helps to build a bridge between the community and the NYPD.
Richards added that he looks forward to improving response times in neighborhoods surrounding the precinct.
“Let’s be clear: the police couldn’t effectively carry out proper policing here,” he said. “Today marks a significant step forward in improving community-police relations and response times. Residents in Southeast Queens—including myself, as I live in Rosedale—pay some of the highest taxes in the city. We deserve the same level of service, including having a car arrive at our home in under five minutes when we call 911. With the establishment of the 116th Precinct, that will now become a reality.”
At the center of it all is Bess DeBetham, who has been steadfast in advocating for the precinct since 1972.
DeBetham’s activism spanned multiple mayoral administrations, starting with Mayor Ed Koch.
“He came out to the community and promised us a satellite on Merrick Boulevard and 230th Street. We marched, we walked down the street with him, and we felt so assured that we were getting a precinct. And he reneged. No money in the budget,” she said. DeBethem and other Laurelton residents subsequently marched in protest due to his reneging on his promise to the community.
“Then[mayor] Dinkins came in…no money in the budget, I really got tired of hearing that,” DeBetham said.
DeBetham said a friend convinced her to join Community Board 13, and she’s been an active member since 1986. She said she then fought to have the precinct as the community board’s top budget priority.
“So I have a lot of mouth insisting on the precinct becoming number one. We fought board members because some wanted libraries, and I explained that it’s good to be educated, but we should be protected,” she said.
“So we won that fight, and it stayed number one for several years until finally, Congressman Meeks started the 116th Precinct Task Force,” DeBetham said. Once Meeks started the task force in 2007, he was able to utilize the media to get the word out.
Much of DeBetham’s insistence on a precinct came from slow response times and the looming crack epidemic that plagued New York City in the late 70s and 80s. “ I live on 230th Street, right off Merrick Boulevard.. the addicts were out on the street. You couldn’t walk out… I could walk out of my house, the front door, and there they are, nodding out on the sidewalk,” she said.
After advocating for decades, DeBetham said it was a major milestone when then-Mayor Bill de Blasio finally allocated money to the precinct.
At Wednesday’s event, NYPD officials honored DeBetham with a custom crystal Bible to signify her activism. She said that now that the precinct is open, it is up to the residents to work with the NYPD to alert them of what is happening in the community. “ I am overjoyed, but we still have work to do,” she said. We don’t want this precinct in the papers every week,” she said. “We, as residents of this community, must continue to work.”
