Board OKs NYPD precinct landmarking — if cops leave

Community Board 2 members approved the plan Monday to landmark the New York Police Department’s 88th Precinct station in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, on the condition that a new home be found for the precinct. The board said the landmark processing would require the police to move out, because it would halt expansion plans at the cramped office.

“The inefficient layout of the building does not properly serve the current needs of the police department,” board member Lawrence Whiteside said at the meeting, according to DNAinfo. However, the department has been looking for a new home for almost 14 years, he added.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission is slated to review the proposal in the middle of next month.

Preservationists have pushed for the designation of the castle-like structure at 298 Classon Avenue, near DeKalb Avenue, since 2006. [DNAinfo] — Mark Maurer