It Took Years

August 9 — Almost six years ago I wrote about my experience as part of the first graduating class of the Greenwich Police Department Citizens Police Academy.

Writing about our use of an expensive and then “state-of-the art” piece of equipment called the Fire Arms Training Simulation machine, or “FATS” machine. I wrote: “One of the real ironies apparent in the course was the juxtaposition of the FATS machine with the shabby ‘used car dealership’ surroundings which housed this state-of-the art equipment. The machine sits amid two or three Army-surplus metal desks in the middle of a cramped office in the Police Headquarters because that room is one of the few rooms in the building that has an appropriate temperature, and, unlike other places in the Police Headquarters, does not require a bucket to catch leaks from the ceiling during rain storms. (I kid you not.)

“But the few inadequacies we did see do have ramifications for all citizens of Greenwich. Property values are reflective of many things – proximity to major employment, a fine school system, and low crime rate, key among them. Just as a mugger looks for an ‘easy mark’ — the easiest person on the street to mug, so too do criminals in general target communities perceived as ‘easy marks’ — weak, lax, or overwhelmed and overworked. Thus, the lion’s share of the credit for Greenwich’s low crime rate goes to the diligence and professionalism of our police force. However, the perception of Greenwich not being an easy mark is not permanent, if the Town does not continue to invest in its Police Force.”

A half dozen years later, the over-crowded and woefully inadequate police buildings (yes, there were two antiquated buildings each housing a portion of the GPD) will be replaced. The replacement, the police part of the new Greenwich Public Safety Complex, will be among the most modern and well-outfitted in the country.

The complex will house all of Greenwich’s emergency services operations: GPD, Fire Department and Marshall, and Greenwich Emergency Medical Services (“GEMS”). The old police administrative building (a former Studebaker dealership) and the old police parking lot form the footprint of the new public safety garage and police headquarters.

In early September, after the police move into the new structure, phase two of the project will begin.  In that phase, the current police building will be refitted to house the GFD and GEMS. The old building, on Havemeyer Place, was built in 1938 to house Greenwich’s police and fire departments and the now defunct Greenwich Municipal Court.

The new offices of all three branches of first responders will be accessed through a common atrium on Bruce Place. Traffic on Bruce Place, which was redirected to a westbound flow for the duration of the construction of the new building, will revert to its eastbound flow, entering off Greenwich Avenue, once the new building is opened for business. Next to the new building is a large garage capable of housing the entire GPD fleet and the personal cars of on-duty officers.

Tomorrow (Monday, August 10) morning, the local media, including OurGreenwich.com reporter/columnist Sarah Darer Littman and OurGreenwich.com photo-essayist, John Ferris Robben, will see the space and post photos and a vivid account shortly thereafter.