Nassau police open new Second Precinct headquarters in Woodbury after fire

After almost three years of operating without a brick-and-mortar headquarters due to a fast-moving fire, the Nassau County Police Department's Second Precinct officially opened its new $30.95 million home in Woodbury.

County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly, Supervisor Joe Saldino, Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder and other elected officials joined dozens of police officers, including two mounted officers, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning at the precinct on Jericho Turnpike.

"They say, you build it, they will come," Ryder said. "Well, we built it."

The event began with the presentation of colors and a rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner performed by police service aide Elizabeth Ryan. A police helicopter flew over the crowded parking lot as Ryan sang the final note.

Nassau County police chaplain Gerard Gordon also blessed the new building.

The November 2022 blaze began in the kitchen after paper left near a mini oven caught fire and then spread to two adjoining offices, Newsday previously reported.

Six Nassau police personnel inside the building at the time of the fire were treated at Nassau University Medical Center for smoke inhalation and released, officials said.

Blakeman praised the firefighters who responded to the scene that night as well as Nassau officials who worked to get construction approved.

"We made the decision immediately — let's get a brand new precinct for this community ... so that we had a precinct that the members of our department could work in a clean environment, a safe environment, a new environment, and a place where the public could be proud of our police department," Blakeman said.

Built in 1969, the old precinct was not equipped with a fire alarm or sprinkler system because it was built before the State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code was created in 1984, Newsday previously reported.

Construction on the new building began in November 2023.

In the interim, Second Precinct officers and leadership operated in a temporary trailer at Stillwell Woods Park in Woodbury.

The precinct covers parts of Bayville, Hicksville, Jericho, Oyster Bay, Plainview, Syosset and Woodbury.

"The men and women in this department serve others. They serve their communities. They're willing to put their lives on the line to save lives," Ryder said. "We are very grateful and very thankful to our community, to our leaders that are here, to our county executive and to God to say thank you for protecting us, looking over us, and we will continue to give back and serve."