New York, NY—Thanks to Councilman Ben Kallos’ (D-5) office, the NYPD’s 17th Precinct now has a state-of-the-art mobile command center that will be parked at East 47th Street and 1st Avenue.
Kallos joined the 17th Precinct’s brass this morning for a ribbon cutting to officially launch the deployment of the new $500,000 mobile command center that will be used for large-scale events such as the United Nations General Assembly, street festivals and parades.
Kicking off the speaking portion of the event, the 17th Precinct’s Commanding Officer, Captain Aaron C. Edwards, thanked Kallos and his office for the funds to purchase a critical asset for policing in the community.
“This vehicle is going to serve as our mobile workstation at large scale events, it's equipped with computer equipment, secure Internet, surveillance cameras, and it allows us to really work outside the precinct seamlessly, and so this is a tool that we really need. [We] really appreciate this from the constituents, from [Kallos’s} office—this just keeps us going into 2022 and beyond with the technology. I just want to thank you again for this. This is a wonderful gift, and we are going to use it,” said Edwards.
Kallos followed Edwards, and he noted that the city currently has incredible challenges fighting crime.
“If you paid attention during the June election or if you are paying attention to the November election, it is something that residents are particularly concerned about. And as we fight crime, we need to have modern tools, and also helps to have a good relationship and listen to the experts,” said Kallos.