Public Safety Answering Center

A high-security landscape for high-stress conditions

When over eleven million “9-1-1” calls are made every year in New York City and its boroughs, they are directed to employees of the Public Safety Answering Center. Relocated from downtown Manhattan to the Bronx after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the building utilizes multiple layers of security within the landscape and building. The building is protected with a landscaped berm of native little bluestem grasses. A custom-designed fence along the perimeter wall is enveloped with native plants, and provides a visual and physical separation from the Hutchinson River Parkway and Pelham Parkway in the Bronx.

The center facilitates calls to coordinate the emergency response for the City of New York on behalf of the NYPD and FDNY. A peaceful employee garden provides a place for mental relief from high-stress emergency situations, embedded among the soft, sculptural berms of the site. Located along the secure entry to the building, the landscape over structure also acts as a threshold to the center. Designed to achieve LEED® Gold certification, the project includes native plants, high SRI paving, and reduced water use for irrigation.

This project was created as part of a collaborative team at Thomas Balsley Associates, with Laura Stedenfeld as Deputy Project Manager. Images are used with permissions from Esto.

About

Size: 9 acres
Cost: $500,000,000