News

Police Department to get $1.2M upgrade

Starting in February, the town of Mamaroneck will begin renovations to its Police Department.

BLH Construction Inc., a New York City-based company, was awarded the $1.2 million contract by the Mamaroneck Town Council on Jan. 20. The contractor is currently ordering materials for the renovation, according to Town Administrator Stephen Altieri.

The town of Mamaroneck police headquarters will also have its building alarm systems repaired and external lights for added for better security.  Photo/Andrew Dapolite
The town of Mamaroneck police headquarters will also have its building alarm systems repaired and external lights for added for better security. Photo/Andrew Dapolite

The main focus of these renovations includes updating the headquarters desk area, adding new radio equipment, making improvements to employee areas and repairing the building’s alarm systems.

Town Supervisor Nancy Seligson, a Democrat, said it was a matter of waiting for the right time and the right bidder to make these renovations, a topic she said has been discussed for at least a decade by the board.

“[The town board] has been very fiscally conservative, and trying not to spend money when we don’t have to and trying to get the most out of our investments,” Seligson said.

She added that although the Town Council recognized it would be beneficial or helpful to improve the Police Department’s facilities, councilmembers also realized that the department could continue its level of service to the community, and that the town did not have the funding resources to do the renovations in the past.

“It just didn’t seem like the right time from an economic standpoint,” Seligson said.

Altieri said the Police Department moved into its 740 W. Boston Post Road location in1986 and has never gone through renovations, hence why it appears to have taken so long to make improvements to the building.

“We started to plan the project about six or seven years ago,” the town administrator said. “There were a series of other priorities we put in front of the police station. Now it’s reached the top of the list and we’d like to move forward.”

The project is slated to be completed by the end of May or early June. Police operations will not be affected, as there will be a temporary dispatch area set up at the start of the project to ensure “a seamless renovation in terms of service for residents,” Seligson said. “The [headquarters] desk is still going to be active and functioning.”

Altieri added that the renovations will make the Police Department’s operations “much more efficient, since we’ll use state-of-the-art equipment in the new dispatching areas [and] we’re going to improve the security of the building.”