The Buffalo Police Department has started moving out of its longtime home at Church and Franklin streets. Crews began moving furniture and equipment in large trucks Monday morning. The city is consolidating its police and fire department into a new Public Safety headquarters in the former Michael J. Dillon Memorial U.S. Courthouse on Court Street at Niagara Square.
Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo says says the moving process will not impact day-to-day policing. One benefit to the move, he says, is that the department will gain much-needed additional space.
"We're able to put units closer together in the same space as opposed to having them spread out. We pick up two large training rooms where here we just had one room. So it's going to allow us to function more efficiently," Rinaldo said Monday.
Rinaldo says the move is expected to be complete around the first week of October. Until then, he says people who need record checks or copies of police reports should go to current headquarters.
The Buffalo Fire Department's move is slated to start in late September and be completed by November.