Indoor baffl ing considered to mitigate gun range noise
NYPD offi cials and members of the 45th Precinct Council Rodman’s Neck
Monitoring Committee at a meeting on Feb. 26
Photo Courtesy CM Mark Gjonaj’s offi ce
BRONX TIMES R 14 EPORTER, MARCH13-19, 2020 BTR
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BY JASON COHEN
Could temporary baffl
ing and a permanent indoor
shooting range fi nally be
coming to Rodman’s Neck?
While NYPD offi cials claim
so, community members are
doubtful.
On Wednesday, February
26, the 45th Precinct Community
Council Rodman’s Neck
Monitoring Committee held a
meeting where NYPD representatives
announced plans
to have temporary baffl ing
in place by the end of 2021
and in the next fi ve to eight
years construct a permanent
indoor shooting range.
In 2017, Mayor de Blasio
announced a $275 million
redevelopment to Rodman’s
Neck, yet nothing has come
to fruition since.
Bob Bieder president of
the 45th Precinct Council
sees this as a step in the right
direction, but said ‘do not
count the chickens before the
eggs hatch.’
“At least we have a vision
in sight,” Bieder said.
Joseph Notaro, deputy inspector
commanding offi cer
of the facilities management
division for NYPD, did his
best to assuage the nerves
of the attendees. Notaro explained
they are preparing
the bid for the baffl ing and
should have a contract by the
end of the year.
Notaro agreed that this
decade-long battle to implement
sound baffl ing needs to
come to a fi nal resolution.
“We want to move forward
with indoor baffl ing” Notaro
said. “It’s the only way we’re
going to mitigate the issue.
There’s really no other place
to put an operation of this
size in NYC. If there’s another
place we could go we
would explore it. There just
really isn’t it.”
Meanwhile John Doyle,
a precinct council board
member and a City Island
community leader, told the
Bronx Times he hopes the
NYPD keeps its word. He understands
the police need to
train, but feels there must be
a solution sooner rather than
later.
“There is a lost of trust
with some people because
this has been going on for so
many years,” Doyle stressed.
“Obviously you guys aren’t
going anywhere. Everyone on
City Island myself included
has grown up with you guys
being there. Really things
we’re dealing with now is
how are we going to be good
neighbors.”
Doyle, who is a lifelong
resident of City Island, said
things have gotten progressively
worse over time. Since
9/11 police have been training
with automatic weapons,
which are much louder than
arms used in the past.
Furthermore, in 2007 they
were told the shooting range
was moving to Queens, but
those plans fell through.
Doyle also explained that
this battle has persisted over
four administrations. Mayor
David Dinkins promised
soundproofi ng in the 90s,
Giuliani and Bloomberg tried
and now its on De Blasio.
Councilman Mark Gjonaj
was also in attendance. He
said this generation-long
fi ght needs to end.
“We’ve gone through this
for decades and my fears,
their fears, are that administration
after administration
has pledged to fi nally end this
problem, but the residents
of City Island always seemsto
get lost,” Gjonaj said. “If
this project gets undermined
again, it will be a decade before
we revisit it again.”
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