MIDTOWN EAST, NY – An East Side police precinct cut the ribbon Wednesday on a new, state-of-the-art mobile command center, replacing the beaten-up van that the cops had formerly relied on.
The 17th Precinct, which patrols much of Midtown East between East 30th and 59th Streets, purchased the enormous vehicle thanks to a $500,000 allocation from City Councilmember Ben Kallos.
In a ceremony Wednesday morning, Kallos said he secured the funding for the 2019 city budget after the precinct's former commanding officer complained about their former command center: a run-down contraption that Kallos called "basically an over-glorified Winnebago, with chairs and not much else."
"My hope is that it will offer folks the tools they need for modern policing, to keep all of us safe," Kallos said, pointing to the 17th Precinct's recent responsibilities during the high-security UN General Assembly.