Albany County Sheriff’s Office to move Substation to former Saint Rose Security Building

Albany, Ny – Albany County Sheriff’s Office is ready to establish a stronger presence in the Pine Hills neighborhood by moving into the former Saint Rose Campus Security Building on Western Avenue at the end of the month.

Currently, the Lensman’s Office has had a small support in Albany County Courthouse, which Sheriff Craig Apple expressed has not been logistically ideal since they reinforced patrol in the city several years ago.

By transforming the former colleague’s security building into an understation, he said it will allow for expanded services and a more robust police presence not only around the now available campus, but also in Albany’s Pine Hill’s neighborhood.

“It would benefit everyone to get us out of the courthouse, move us up to St. Rose, and that security building is a perfect fit,” Apple said. “It will also give us a greater presence on campus with a lot of available buildings, and hopefully it will avoid evil and burglary.”

The move is part of Albany County Executive Dan McCoy’s plan to move county services to the former university campus.

But for Apple, he considers it more than just a change in address, but rather an upgrade that will improve the operations of the sheriff’s office while strengthening the presence and social relations of the police.

“We want better on roads with some of our inner cities’ communities and advocates,” Apple said.

“It will be good to work with the communities more. Pine Hills has a big neighborhood association, so I would very much like to sit down with them and see how we can be better partners,” he said.

CBS6S Briana Supardi: “How much does this relocation cost?”

Sheriff Craig Apple: “The original relocation must be minimal if something has it at all. They have a very up to date do special operations, the sender can work right from there and not tie our 911 system.

Local business owners, like Frank Scavio from Paesan’s pizza on Ontario Street, welcomes the increased police presence.

Scavio, who has expressed concern about public security in the area, said he is optimistic about the change.

“I’m so excited,” Scavio said. “Having Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple provides a sense of security and public security where we can attract local traffic, walking traffic and hopefully bring some customers back that fear coming to Pine Hills in the last few years.”

CBS6 reached out to the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association to hear their thoughts on the move, but we haven’t heard back yet.