{"id":108888,"date":"2026-01-22T18:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T18:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/108888\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T18:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T18:48:10","slug":"northeast-queens-is-growing-our-public-safety-infrastructure-must-grow-with-it-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/108888\/","title":{"rendered":"Northeast Queens is growing. Our public safety infrastructure must grow with it \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1010\" height=\"1073\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_8454.jpeg\" class=\"crop-center wp-post-image\" alt=\"queens\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>New York State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky.<\/p>\n<p>Photo courtesy of Benjamin Chou\u2019s campaign<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/site\/nypd\/bureaus\/patrol\/precincts\/109th-precinct.page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">109th Precinct,<\/a> comprising northeast Queens, is one of the largest and most geographically complex precincts in New York City. It serves a population that numbers in the hundreds of thousands and continues to grow as major developments move forward and throughout surrounding neighborhoods. These projects will bring tens of thousands of new residents, employees and daily visitors into an area already stretched thin. That pressure will only intensify as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/business-finance\/nys-gaming-board-approves-nyc-casino-licenses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">proposed casino developments<\/a> in Queens and nearby areas generate additional traffic and activity throughout the region.<\/p>\n<p>For years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/site\/queenscb7\/index.page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Queens Community Board 7<\/a> has raised consistent and well-founded concerns about what this growth means for public safety. Those concerns have been echoed by residents and local leaders who see firsthand how the size and scope of the 109th Precinct affect response times, staffing demands and overall neighborhood confidence.<\/p>\n<p>In response to the community\u2019s concerns, the New York City Police Department soon established a satellite office at the Police Academy within the 109th Precinct, which was a welcome step. But it is, at best, an interim measure. A satellite office does not replace the need for a fully resourced additional precinct with dedicated staffing, leadership and facilities capable of meeting both current and future demands.<\/p>\n<p>Recent events in <a href=\"https:\/\/qns.com\/neighborhoods\/malba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Malba<\/a> made this reality impossible to ignore. A <a href=\"https:\/\/qns.com\/2025\/12\/malba-community-speaks-out-violent-car-meet-up\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">violent car meet-up that <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/qns.com\/2025\/12\/malba-community-speaks-out-violent-car-meet-up\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">spiraled out of control<\/a>, resulting in multiple people being brutally attacked, highlighted the strain placed on existing resources and the real consequences of treating policing capacity as something that can be addressed later. Public safety cannot be conditional. It must be proactive.<\/p>\n<p>This is why I have continued to advance legislation to formally address the structural challenges of the 109th Precinct. My Senate Bill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysenate.gov\/legislation\/bills\/2025\/S2276\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">S.2276<\/a> would amend the City\u2019s Administrative Code to divide the precinct into two\u2014one serving the northern communities of <a href=\"https:\/\/qns.com\/neighborhoods\/college-point\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">College Point<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/qns.com\/neighborhoods\/whitestone\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Whitestone<\/a>, Clearview and <a href=\"https:\/\/qns.com\/neighborhoods\/bay-terrace\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bay Terrace<\/a>, and another serving <a href=\"https:\/\/qns.com\/neighborhoods\/flushing\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Flushing<\/a> South. This proposal is grounded in long-standing data on population, geography and service demand. It reflects a simple reality: a precinct that is difficult to manage effectively cannot deliver the level of safety New Yorkers deserve.<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, Community Board 7\u2019s approval of <a href=\"https:\/\/qns.com\/2024\/01\/bp-richards-green-lights-phase-2-willets-point-redevelopment-project-conditions\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Willets Point Phase II<\/a> was explicitly conditioned on the need for additional policing capacity. That condition reflected a clear and reasonable expectation\u2014that as we approve major residential and commercial growth, we must also invest in the infrastructure that keeps communities safe.<\/p>\n<p>New York City has shown that it can plan thoughtfully for growth. Now it must apply that same foresight to public safety in northeast Queens. The question is not whether additional policing capacity will be needed, but whether we will act before or after communities feel the consequences of it.<\/p>\n<p>Our neighborhoods deserve planning that matches reality, infrastructure that matches growth and public safety resources that are built for the future.\n<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>State Senator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysenate.gov\/senators\/toby-ann-stavisky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Toby Ann Stavisky<\/a> represents New York\u2019s 11th Senate District.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Chou\u2019s campaign The\u00a0109th Precinct, comprising northeast Queens,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[10392,9,24,63,308,122,124,123,49010],"class_list":{"0":"post-108888","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-109th-precinct","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-nyc","12":"tag-public-safety","13":"tag-queens","14":"tag-queens-headlines","15":"tag-queens-news","16":"tag-s-2276"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}