On Thursday, May 11, Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi traveled to Massapequa to announce that a new Police Academy is set to open in the village by the end of the year.

The 50,000-square-foot facility will replace three trailer-style modular buildings on the grounds of the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, where the academy has been housed since 1996.

"Our officers work hard every day to protect us, and they deserve a top-notch training facility," Suozzi said. "Good training is the key to disciplined, effective and fair policing. This academy will provide the department with the latest crime fighting equipment, including a new Intelligence Center, in an updated facility. The new academy brings a large portion of our training - for recruits and for police officers already on the job - into one location, and expands the resources available for this critical task."

The academy will be housed in the Hawthorn School, formerly a Massapequa elementary school that for the past five years has been used by BOCES as an instructional technology center and teacher training site. The Police Department will lease the building from the Massapequa Union Free School District. School and county officials have reached an agreement in principle concerning use of the site. The Hawthorn School is located on 2002 Second Avenue in Massapequa.

Police Commissioner James H. Lawrence called the new academy a welcome addition. "This will enable us to continue to provide top-notch training to our recruits in an environment that will enhance their introduction to police work," he said. "It also will expand our ability to provide continuing educational opportunities to officers now on the job. And it gives us a new intelligence center, which will enhance emergency response to criminal threats and homeland security concerns."

"This partnership between Nassau County and the Massapequa School District is an exemplary example of agencies working together for the good of the community," said Massapequa School Board President Arlene Martin. "Having the police academy in the largest Nassau school district means we will have consultants available to review our safety plans as well as any CPR or defibrillator training that we need in the future. We are pleased that the building will be used for maximum benefit to so many Nassau County residents."

The new academy will provide two and one-half times the square footage of the current academy, while continuing to train 150 recruits at a time.

In addition, there will be space for in-service training for as many as 50 current officers. The new academy will include 13 larger classrooms, as well two large lecture halls - one of which is large enough to be used as an assembly area. The 3,100 square foot meeting room also will be available for use by the Massapequa School District and for community meetings.

The academy will have new facilities to teach recruits defensive tactics, as well as a computer training facilities and traditional classrooms. Along with the training of new recruits, the new academy will provide a site for training for officers already on the force and a new state-of-the-art intelligence center that will improve the department's readiness for emergency response and homeland security.

Officials with the Massapequa Public School District expressed their own satisfaction with the county's desire to open such a facility in the village.

"On behalf of the Board of Education and the Massapequa Public Schools I am pleased to acknowledge the interagency collaboration that has resulted in the occupancy of the Hawthorn School by the Nassau County Police Academy," said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Maureen Flaherty. "The Academy will use the building for classroom and technology instruction. The building will not be used for training or storage of firearms. However, the presence of the academy faculty and student body will increase police protection in the neighborhood."

Dr. Flaherty went on to explain the commitment of the Massapequa School District to maintaining the quiet residential surroundings of the Hawthorn School.

"The use of the building for educational purposes by the Police Academy is consistent with the role Hawthorn has played in this community," she added. "The district will shortly host a meeting for the residents of the Hawthorn catchment area to review the police training and technology education that will occur in the facility."

"As the largest school district in Nassau County," Dr. Flaherty continued, "Massapequa looks forward to working with the Nassau County Police Academy in sharing resources and technical expertise on such things as safety planning, emergency medical response training, and awareness training on matters related to our youth. Massapequa is also home to one of the largest PAL programs in Nassau County and the presence of the Academy here in Massapequa will enhance that operation. In addition, the efforts of the school district and the county to re-define the use of Hawthorn maximize the taxpayers' investment in an existing public building and eliminate additional tax cost."