Newly approved Queens police academy draws fire from local leaders

Though a new Queens police academy has been approved by the City Council, local leaders are concerned that the $1.5 billion project will have an adverse impact on the surrounding community. The academy building, which the city is constructing on a 35-acre campus in the College Point Corporate Park at 129-05 31st Avenue, has plans for 3,000 parking spaces, though 5,000 people are expected to occupy the building at any given time. Because mass transit to College Point is limited, City Council member Tony Avella, whose Bayside, Queens district includes the site, said most people will drive to the site. It could also burden the water and sewage lines in the district. Avella has called the planned academy a “monstrosity” that “goes well beyond what it really needed.” It is intended to consolidate police facilities across the city. The completed project is slated for 2013 and will have a museum, shooting range, classrooms and dorms.
[NYDN]