Nassau County’s first new police booth in 16 years was opened last Thursday, Dec. 11, at the corner of Middle Neck Road and Steamboat Road in the Village of Great Neck. The new booth was dedicated by the Nassau County Police Department Foundation in honor of former Nassau County Police Department Commissioner Francis B. Looney.
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, who was not able to attend the dedication, stated: “This new police booth is a wonderful addition to the Great Neck community as it provides a safe and secure place for police officers to conduct business while protecting our neighborhoods.” Mangano added: “Nassau County is the safest large suburban county in the United States of America and our crime rate is now at the lowest level in history.”
Mangano explained that “It was Commissioner Looney who originally ordered the building of police booths in Nassau CouNCPD Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter and Sixth Precinct Inspector Sean McCarthy were present and praised Looney and thanked Looney’s son, Dan, and wife, Mary, who were both present.
This particular booth took approximately six months to build and was done through a donation by the Villadom Corporation. through Villadom’s CEO Kouros Torkan, Torkan, a Kings Point resident and a builder, is a member of the NCPD Foundation Advisory Board and has told the Great Neck Record that he “saw the need and importance for a new booth in the Village of Great Neck.” Torkan then enlisted the donation of design services from Hennie Scolnick at TAI Design to construct this state-of-the-art police booth, the first of its kind. Torkan thanked Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman and the board of trustees for their cooperation in making this a reality and replacing the old, rundown booth across the street.
Thanking Torkan, Eric Blumencranz, chairman of the NCPD Foundation, noted: “We thought it was appropriate to name this booth after Commissioner Looney … this police booth in Great Neck will be a wonderful addition to the community and we are extremely appreciative of the Villadom Corporation for their generosity in this effort.”
These booths serve as relieving points for many patrol officers, as well as a place to write reports and conduct administrative functions. They are a great addition to many neighborhoods showing a police presence that is important to safety and security, according to Nassau County police officers.
