NYPD's Anti-Terror Unit Is Newest Battery Park City Tenant

The NYPD’s Intelligence Division and Counterterrorism Bureau is moving this month from Chelsea to a new nerve center in Brookfield Place, across the street from the World Trade Center.

One hundred fifty officers will be operating out of 250 Vesey Street, Capt. Brendan Timoney, the commanding officer of the 1st Precinct, told Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee this month. Two-fifty Vesey Street, formerly 4 World Financial Center, is the tower that houses the international headquarters of Merrill Lynch.

“There’s going to be even more police presence here,” Timoney said. “They’re here to protect and serve. If they see something going on that looks suspicious, they will take police action right away like any police officer.”

The officers, who are not part of the 1st Precinct, are permitted to park their unmarked cars from Murray to Vesey Streets, from West Street to River Terrace, Timoney said. They are not allowed to park in front of fire hydrants or at bus stops.

A resident of the Riverhouse condominium complex, 2 River Terr., told Timoney he was concerned that the police cars would block the front of his building, inconveniencing parents who are bringing their children to and from school by car. But Timoney assured him that he would be “happy to come out here and work on a solution” to that problem, including leaving some open space in front of the building.

“This is a positive thing for Battery Park [City],” Timoney said of the move. “I believe that more police presence out there will make this area even safer.”

Timoney encouraged residents to call his office at (212) 334-0606 with any concerns about the new location.