1 Police Plaza

Description

One Police Plaza is rectangular in plan and is an inverted pyramid in elevation. It is a 13-level, horizontally-oriented brutalist building designed by Gruzen and Partners. The building was dedicated on October 16, 1973. A 22000 sqft expansion project was completed in 2011. Lower Manhattan residents held a rally on August 27, 2008 near One Police Plaza to protest the addition, and tenants of three neighboring co-ops filed a lawsuit to force the NYPD to undergo environmental and land use reviews.

Located on the second floor of One Police Plaza is the Real Time Crime Center, an anti-crime computer network which is essentially a large search engine and data warehouse operated by detectives to assist officers in the field with their investigations. The Major Case Squad and the Technical Assistance Response Unit (TARU) are also located at 1PP.

Inside 1 Police Plaza, a room on the second floor affectionately called "The Shack" served as the police bureau office for local press outlets until 2024 when it was moved to a structure outside the building. Its tenants include the Associated Press, the Daily News, New York Post, The New York Times, Newsday, Staten Island Advance, El Diario La Prensa, NY1 News, and WINS Radio. Its police counterpart is on the 13th floor, the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI). Also inside 1PP is the "Thirteenth Floor", the office of the New York City Police Commissioner.

Park Row closure criticism

Park Row, historically a major artery linking the Financial District to Chinatown and the Bowery, has been closed to public traffic since 2001. The NYPD asserts that this is necessary to protect its headquarters from a truck bomb attack. Chinatown residents were particularly frustrated at the disruption caused by the closure of the thoroughfare, especially nearby residents. People who live nearby argued that the police department had placed a chokehold on an entire neighborhood and that if One Police Plaza was such an obvious terrorist target, it should be moved from a residential area. Members of the Civic Center Residents Coalition fought the security perimeter around One Police Plaza for years. Park Row reopened for foot traffic and MTA buses in 2005, although only 200 buses per day were allowed on the street, and they had to pass through security checkpoints.

In 2007, the NYPD said that it would not be moving despite the numerous complaints from residents, explaining that they had tried to alleviate the impact of the security measures by forbidding officers from parking in nearby public spaces and by reopening a stairway that skirts the headquarters' south side and leads down to street level near the Brooklyn Bridge. The department also planned to redesign its guard booths and security barriers to make them more attractive, and was involved in efforts to convert two lanes of Park Row into a cycling and pedestrian greenway, which opened in June 2018.

References

References

1. "NYC Police Headquarters".
2. Kaufman, Michael T.. (October 17, 1973). "Parade and Moments of Nostalgia Mark Dedication of City Police Headquarters".
3. "Lower Manhattan Residents Rally Against NYPD".
4. (July 15, 2005). "Center Gives Police High-Tech Help". The New York Times.
5. Klein, Charlotte. (2023-12-14). ""A Slippery Slope": NYPD Is Relocating Reporters From Police HQ to a Trailer".
6. "Welcome to The Shack, our new blog from inside NYPD headquarters at One Police Plaza". Daily News.
7. Buckley, Cara. (September 24, 2007). "Chinatown Residents Frustrated Over Street Closed Since 9/11". The New York Times.
8. Hogarty, Dave. (September 24, 2007). "Park Row Paralysis". Gothamist.
9. Rutenberg, Jim. (2005-04-15). "Park Row Is to Be Reopened To Pedestrian and Bus Traffic". The New York Times.
10. Wilson, Michael. (2005-05-16). "Metro Briefing | New York: Manhattan: Park Row Reopened To Buses". The New York Times.
11. Spivack, Caroline. (June 22, 2018). "Park Row Bike And Pedestrian Paths Reopens After 9/11 Closure".