History and architecture
Constructed in 1871-72 and designed by Nathaniel Bush, who acted as the official architect of the New York City Police Department, this handsome French Second Empire style brick building was located at the center of the village of Carmansville, then an affluent suburb of New York. Typical of Bush's work, the station house is also an important reminder of the history of this section of Manhattan. History
The 32nd Police Precinct Station House was built as part of a city-wide reconstruction and renovation campaign to modernize police facilities, and was often cited in its own day as one of the finest of the new station houses. New York had first been divided into precincts by a law of 1844 which also required that each precinct be furnished with a station house. Some stations were set up in buildings originally intended for other uses, while others, hastily erected "without much, if any, regard for the comfort of the men, or the sanitary or architectural advantage of the houses," were quickly judged obsolete.
By the early 1860s. the Police Department had retained an official full-time architect, Nathaniel D. Bush, with offices at Police Headquarters on Mulberry Street. Bush "went to work with characteristic energy and in a few years [the] station houses began to put on a very different appearance."
Over the course of two decades Bush was to design more than twenty new or renovated station houses. These larger and more architecturally commanding buildings reflected not only the growth and prosperity of the city, but also the increased professionalism of its police force.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.