Schumer Announces FBI Regional Office to be Built in New Windsor - Senator has Long Fought to Bring FBI Presence Closer to Newburgh

Press Release

Today, in New Windsor, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer joined several FBI officials and other local officials to announce that a new FBI regional office will be built in New Windsor. Schumer, as well as other elected officials like Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, have fought for the stations relocation from Goshen to New Windsor, so that the office would be in closer proximity to the City of Newburgh. Schumer announced that the FBI site will be on the corner of Avenue of Americas and Airport Center Drive. The FBI expects to break ground on the facility in early 2014 and to be operational by December 2014. Schumer highlighted that the new FBI facility will be a major boost to local law enforcement efforts to curb gang-related crime in the nearby city of Newburgh. Schumer cited the numerous advantages posed by the location of the new building, which has proximity to Stewart International Airport as well as to the major, arterial transportation routes of I-87 and I-84. Schumer explained that the new facility will add important personnel support and leverage federal resources for local police departments, create construction jobs, and bring a boost to the development of the business park where construction is planned.

"Anytime community safety, economic development and jobs go hand-in-hand, that's a win for everyone involved--and that's exactly what this new FBI facility will mean for New Windsor, the City of Newburgh and all of Orange County," said Schumer. "Law enforcement in the City of Newburgh will now be better aided by the federal resources of the FBI, which has already been very prominent in curbing gang-related violence in the area. I applaud the decision to move the new regional office to New Windsor, so that the FBI can establish a stronger presence where it's needed the most and expand its service to include all of Orange, Sullivan, Dutchess, and Rockland Counties."

Schumer was joined by FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Felipe Orengo, Supervisory Special Agent Robert Fuller, Special Agent Edward McCabe, Town of New Windsor Supervisor George Green, and District Director Ed Brancati of Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney's Office.

"This Newburgh area FBI office invests in our local economy while adding boots on the ground to fight crime and keep our communities safe. I commend the FBI and GSA for finalizing this critical investment one month after calling for federal officials to expedite this relocation," said Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18). "We have waited too long to free our communities from violence and this partnership effort wouldn't have been possible without the leadership of Town Supervisor George Green, the City of Newburgh, Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, the FBI and the GSA."

Schumer explained that the new FBI facility, in addition to providing needed office space for the FBI, would offer the community a number of new benefits. Not only would it expand the FBI's presence in the region and give it a tangible foothold near the City of Newburgh, it would be one of the first prominent tenants of a business park near Stewart International Airport. Local officials expect the project will generate over one hundred construction jobs.

The new facility will be located between the Avenue of the Americas and Airport Center Drive near Stewart International Airport in New Windsor. The New Windsor location has proximity to both I-84 and I-87 and the City of Newburgh, which has struggled with gang-related crime in the recent past. Currently, the City of Newburgh has only 80 police officers serving a population of approximately 29,000. Schumer highlighted that an increased FBI presence in the area would serve as a deterrent to crime and step-up the coordination between local and federal law enforcement agencies, which could go a long way towards ensuring that the proper resources are dispensed to areas of need.

Schumer has long fought for the relocation and potential expansion of the FBI's regional office to be closer to Newburgh. In September 2010, Schumer released a letter to Robert Muller, Director of the FBI, and John Scorcia, Acting General Services Administration Regional Administrator for the Northeast and Caribbean Region urging them to follow through on rumored plans to bring a centrally located FBI office to crime plagued Newburgh or the surrounding area. Reports indicate that the FBI through the General Services Administration, the federal agency which coordinates administrative logistics, may be considering moving its Goshen office to Newburgh, and Schumer strongly supported that idea.

Also in 2010, Schumer pressed the Justice Department (DOJ) to provide additional resources to the region and to send a high ranking Justice Department delegation to the City of Newburgh to work with and coordinate with local police to establish a plan of action to stem the rising tide of crime. Schumer toured Newburgh in June 2010 with high ranking DOJ officials and visited three locations that had been particularly hard hit by violence, which marked the first time DOJ officials had visited the city. Schumer's office has continued to work with Newburgh and its surrounding communities in Orange County, the Department of Justice and the FBI to help address spikes in crime. For example, this included a successful effort from August 2010 through June 2011 to designate Orange County a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The designation has allowed enhanced coordination of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies by providing equipment, technology and additional resources to combat the drug trafficking perpetuated by gangs.

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