December 15, 2015
Ribbon Cutting

Commissioner Peña-Mora Joined by Mayor de Blasio to Celebrate the New York Police Academy

This landmark, seven-year project was brought to a close with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Mayor de Blasio, NYPD Commissioner Bratton, and DDC Commissioner Peña-Mora. The new academy brings top-of-the-line facilities to a 30-acre plot of land in College Point Queens. Designed by Perkins + Will, the 730,000-square-foot academy will provide training for thousands of cadets that matriculate each year.

The project includes the Recruit Academic Building with classrooms, mock training environments, instructional offices, and administrative support spaces. The Tactical Training Building includes physical training facilities, gyms, a swimming pool, an indoor track and spaces for CPR instruction and baton training.

For DDC, the project has been a group effort in the greatest sense—nine different consultants and over 80 subcontractors helped along the way. On track to receive LEED Gold certification, the building boasts active design strategies such as wide, open stairwells that encourage movement, and will be one of the most sustainable law enforcement buildings in the world. Sustainable features include:

• An energy-efficient central utility plant
• High performance building envelope with solar shading
• Daylight harvesting
• Rainwater harvesting and reuse
• Bio-filtration of storm water runoff
• Rehabilitation of existing drainage ditch
• Healthy indoor air quality
• Green roofs
• Native and adaptive landscaping
• Energy efficient lighting
• Automated building controls
• Low VOC and recycled content materials
• Construction waste management and recycling

The NYPD officially moved into the building during the fall of 2014, with the first class of cadets starting in January of 2015. The second round of recruits began training last July, and will soon graduate as the most diverse class in NYPD history.