Rodman’s Neck police range
discussion set for next month
CREDIT
Women entrepreneurs:
establish an easy-toaccess
Eligible applicants must have been
in business for a minimum of one
year and have at least $50,000 in
annual revenue.
Call 311 or visit
we.nyc/we-fund-credit
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,18 JANUARY 24-30, 2020 BTR
TM
business line of
credit up to $100K
BY JASON COHEN
A generation-long battle
to install sound barriers at
Rodman’s Neck NYPD shooting
range will continue next
month.
On Wednesday, February
26, the 45th Precinct Community
Council will meet at 3615
E. Tremont Avenue, where
hopefully a resolution to this
issue might occur, said John
Doyle, the precinct community
council’s board member and a
City Island community leader.
In 2017, Mayor de Blasio announced
a $275 million redevelopment
to Rodman’s Neck, yet
according to Doyle, the NYPD
is now claiming it needs $100
million more to soundproof the
facility.
The additional money includes
$73 million for six fully
(sound) baffl ed outdoor ranges.
“You can hear it (the noise)
from anywhere on City Island”
Doyle said to the Bronx Times.
“At the end of the day the goal is
to get this fi xed.”
The redesign of the range is
expected to include sound baf-
The issue of soundproofi ng Rodman’s Neck will be discusssed next
month. File Photo
fl ing that will muffl e or block
the non-stop gun noise from the
NYPD range.
When asked if this was accurate
the NYPD offered a
vague reply.
“The NYPD and the city
are committed to reconstructing
Rodman’s Neck Range to
provide much needed improvements
and offer appropriate
sound mitigation for the community,”
said DCPI spokesperson
Sergeant Jessica McRorie.
“While we proceed through the
design and construction of the
full range, we are actively pursuing
temporary solutions to
reduce noise impacts from the
range.”
Doyle explained that islanders
support the NYPD using the
range, but it’s simply a quality
of life issue.
The gunfi re and controlled
explosives are too loud and it
needs to be soundproofed, he
said.
It seems that every time
they try to get things resolved
the NYPD stonewalls them and
wants more money to fi x it,
Doyle said.
According to Doyle, Rodman’s
Neck was initially going
to move into a new police facility
in College Point in Queens
in 2007, but those plans were
abandoned.
“People have been waiting
for decades,” Doyle said. “I’m
sure they want a 21st century
for their offi cers. We’re not
looking to move it. We’re looking
to soundproof it.
The other issue with the
range is it was found to have
lead contamination in 2018.
Three NYC Department of
Corrections offi cers who were
assigned to the NYPD’s Rodman’s
Neck pistol range were
taken off the job after they
tested either high or borderline
high for lead levels, according
to sources with knowledge
of the situation.
Barbara Dolenseek, City
Island Civic Association vice
president, has witnessed fi rsthand
the disruption Rodman’s
Neck has caused in the community.
She has lived 2,000 feet
away from the range for more
than 40 years and hopes a resolution
comes soon.
She stressed that people
in Throggs neck, Pelham Bay
and Country Club can hear the
noise, not just City Island.
“I’m right in the line of fi re,”
she said. “They’re (NYPD) not
informing us about what’s going
on. I’ve been fi ghting this
for 25 years and there’s no
change.”
THE LATEST BRONX SPORTS SCORES
TOP BRONX NEWS STORIES
YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD - YOUR NEWS®
The Bronx Times On-Line
Your world is 24/7... NOW so are we.
CLASSIFIEDS FOR THE BRONX