SI police precinct construction further delayed

Staten Islanders continue to wait for their long-anticipated fourth
police precinct, with ground breaking on the 47,000-square-foot
stationhouse now reported to begin no sooner than mid-October. The new
building, which will be built on a vacant plot on Richmond Avenue across
from a ShopRite shopping plaza, was originally slated to open in
2010, but the project has been repeatedly delayed. As of last
November, completion was expected by 2012, but the city comptroller
— who has to receive and approve the building filing — only just
received the construction contract last week, which is subject to a
30-day review process before construction can begin. Nonetheless,
Jason Post, a spokesperson for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, insists that the city
intends to follow through on the project. “The 121 precinct will be
built, as promised,” he told the Advance, noting that even amid budget
cuts that have affected most of the city’s other capital projects, the
plan for a new 121st precinct has not been affected.