The Schenectady County Sheriff has opened a new Princetown substation in the western end of the county.
Going back to the days of Sheriff Harry Buffardi, the Schenectady County Sheriff's department has had an eye on establishing a western outpost. That desire, now realized, was also a long-term goal of current Sheriff Dominic Dagostino. 1 "This has been a concept for probably the past 15 years. To have it come to fruition now is certainly pleasing to us, and certainly puts us in a position to better police our community and provide those services to our community."
The new facility is strategically located near I-88 and the New York State Thruway, giving deputies an improved ability to quickly respond to calls in the primary service areas of Duanesburg and Princetown, and just about anywhere else in Schenectady County. Road patrols will now be 6 minutes or less away from any call in the western areas. "When we are mustering out of our downtown facility, typically we lose an hour of patrol time a day, coming out to the western part of the county. Just by virtue of our location now we are increasing the number of hours of patrol that we can provide to this community."
County Legislature Chairman Tony Jasenski: "This new substation contains about 6,500 square feet of space, including about 5,500 square feet of office space and a thousand square feet of garage space. More than enough to meet our present and future needs. This facility has also created additional efficiencies by providing space for other county departments including emergency management and weights and measures."
The County Drug Unit has also found a new home in Princetown, away from the bustling city, which the sheriff believes will aid in combating the heroin epidemic and when conducting investigations. "That may increase the ability to keep our informants and our operations a little more confidential than just walking people through the front doors of Veeder Avenue every day."
Princetown also houses the STOP DWI unit and County Consumer Affairs.
Sheriff Dagostino noted that the initial search for a substation involved looking into locating in Quaker Street, which was passed over as likely being too expensive, and another idea to lease space from Princetown that was quickly cast aside. "When I took office there was approximately $300,000 set aside in the capital budget for this project. This particular building cost the county $438,000. The upside to that is the building is assessed at 510. So if the road patrol were to diminish tomorrow and go away tomorrow, the county would be left with a building that has quite a bit of equity and in a great location to do something different if that be case, and that's not something I anticipate. But the financial savings on this building, compared to the value, I think was too hard to pass up."
