Landmark Central Park Precinct Renovation

Historic Landmark - New York City’s Central Park Precinct Reflects Multi-Million Dollar Modernization 

(Photo Credit: Edward Reed)

The Central Park Precinct station house, the national and New York City landmark that since 1936 has served as base for New York City’s 22nd Precinct covering Central Park was recently renovated.

The two-story station features an updated and expanded new lobby with a partially bullet-proof glass atrium; improved staging, arrest processing and interview rooms, mechanical ventilation and central air-conditioning. There is 2,300 more square feet of additional space than the previous station house provided.

Originally stables and sheds in 1871, the park complex was converted into a garage in 1915 and reconstructed and redesignated as a police station in 1936. Part of the complex underwent additional restoration in the 1950s after a fire damaged the structure.

In 2002, uniformed and civilian personnel assigned to the Central Park Precinct relocated to a temporary building elsewhere on the site after deterioration, structural stress and roof leaks required a full renovation. The station house grounds make it the oldest Police Department building in the City.

Central Park is among the safest urban parks of its size in the world, with crime in the park down by more than 20 percent since 2001. Approximately 40 million people enjoy Central Park each year and since November 2002, there have been a total of 400 million visitors to the 842-acre park without a murder.