Babylon unveils renovated emergency dispatch hub
The dispatch facility, located beneath Town Hall, handles about 29,000 emergency and 10,000 nonemergency calls a year, officials said. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Babylon officials have unveiled the town’s renovated and upgraded emergency communications hub, which they said has been more than a decade in the making.
The Babylon Central Fire and Rescue Alarm Corp. dispatch facility is in the basement of Babylon Town Hall in Lindenhurst and serves as the town’s 911 call center. Residents reporting an emergency can call 911 or 631-226-1212 to reach a dispatcher.
The facility handles about 29,000 emergency and 10,000 nonemergency calls a year, officials said, and was in woeful need of a face-lift.
The work was completed last May, but Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said officials decided to formally unveil the renovated hub last week because it was National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
“We wanted to highlight how critical they are to us and our safety, and we thought it was appropriate since this is the first year that we have everything up and running,” he said.
Babylon Central, which was formed in 1962 and incorporated in 1978, had operated separately from town government and was funded through individual fire departments, said town historian Mary Cascone. In 2022, the town, which contracts with the corporation, added a separate tax line to resident bills for Babylon Central, which also allowed for the creation of a capital improvements fund. The average household will pay about $26 for the service this year, according to town budget documents. Babylon Central’s budget this year is $2.1 million, officials said.
“We knew we had to do it because without a stable source of income they wouldn’t be able to do a lot of the technological upgrades,” Schaffer said.
The last upgrade was in the early 2000s, Schaffer said, and talks about a renovation heated up after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 — but the extent of the fixes outweighed available funding. Then, national American Rescue Plan money fell into the town’s lap, and $1.5 million was allotted toward the renovations.
“If they hadn’t gotten that funding, we would have never been able to do this,” said James Kenning, Babylon Central’s chief administrator.
The town rearranged office and storage spaces in the basement to allow for a hub expansion, officials said, going from four to six stations and the addition of a center credenza for more personnel. Other additions: six large screens for keeping track of local weather and news, new computers and new multichannel recording devices.
“We’re bringing everything up to today’s technology,” said Babylon Central Vice President John Palermo.
As a result of the funding, the town also was able to increase the pay for dispatchers, Kenning said. Babylon Central has 29 employees, he said.
In addition, a room with a stove and sink but no seating was transformed into a proper break room with tables, benches and larger cooking facilities.
“We used to never get a meal break, we used to just eat at our console,” Kenning said. “Now you can decompress a little bit if you’re having a very stressful day from the level of calls.”
Kenning said employees are no longer “crammed” into each other in the hub.
“To be able to be more friendly to the employees, so it’s a much better work atmosphere for them, it’s 150 times better than what it used to be,” he said.
Babylon officials have unveiled the town’s renovated and upgraded emergency communications hub, which they said has been more than a decade in the making.
The Babylon Central Fire and Rescue Alarm Corp. dispatch facility is in the basement of Babylon Town Hall in Lindenhurst and serves as the town’s 911 call center. Residents reporting an emergency can call 911 or 631-226-1212 to reach a dispatcher.
The facility handles about 29,000 emergency and 10,000 nonemergency calls a year, officials said, and was in woeful need of a face-lift.
The work was completed last May, but Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said officials decided to formally unveil the renovated hub last week because it was National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
“We wanted to highlight how critical they are to us and our safety, and we thought it was appropriate since this is the first year that we have everything up and running,” he said.
Babylon Central, which was formed in 1962 and incorporated in 1978, had operated separately from town government and was funded through individual fire departments, said town historian Mary Cascone. In 2022, the town, which contracts with the corporation, added a separate tax line to resident bills for Babylon Central, which also allowed for the creation of a capital improvements fund. The average household will pay about $26 for the service this year, according to town budget documents. Babylon Central’s budget this year is $2.1 million, officials said.
“We knew we had to do it because without a stable source of income they wouldn’t be able to do a lot of the technological upgrades,” Schaffer said.
The last upgrade was in the early 2000s, Schaffer said, and talks about a renovation heated up after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 — but the extent of the fixes outweighed available funding. Then, national American Rescue Plan money fell into the town’s lap, and $1.5 million was allotted toward the renovations.
“If they hadn’t gotten that funding, we would have never been able to do this,” said James Kenning, Babylon Central’s chief administrator.
The town rearranged office and storage spaces in the basement to allow for a hub expansion, officials said, going from four to six stations and the addition of a center credenza for more personnel. Other additions: six large screens for keeping track of local weather and news, new computers and new multichannel recording devices.
“We’re bringing everything up to today’s technology,” said Babylon Central Vice President John Palermo.
As a result of the funding, the town also was able to increase the pay for dispatchers, Kenning said. Babylon Central has 29 employees, he said.
In addition, a room with a stove and sink but no seating was transformed into a proper break room with tables, benches and larger cooking facilities.
“We used to never get a meal break, we used to just eat at our console,” Kenning said. “Now you can decompress a little bit if you’re having a very stressful day from the level of calls.”
Kenning said employees are no longer “crammed” into each other in the hub.
“To be able to be more friendly to the employees, so it’s a much better work atmosphere for them, it’s 150 times better than what it used to be,” he said.
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
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