Construction begins on SI’s new precinct

After years of delays, the city has finally broken ground on the construction of Staten Island’s new 121st Police Precinct in Graniteville, and has said it is slated for completion in 30 months. The proposed 52,827-square-foot stationhouse, which is being built on a vacant plot on Richmond Avenue across from a ShopRite shopping plaza, has been designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects as the city’s first green precinct, using as much as 30 percent less electricity and water than comparable stationhouses. Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, and Department of Design and Construction Commissioner David Burney were all in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday. The $63.6 million facility will be the borough’s fourth, and the first new precinct built there in nearly 50 years. It will cover areas currently under the jurisdiction of the 120th and 122nd precints.