The decades-long saga of Rodman’s Neck is finally coming to an end as the NYPD recently announced plans to construct an indoor shooting range on the property.
For years, loud gun shots have plagued City Island residents and they have relentlessly tried to get the range enclosed. The new range will be 85% enclosed, according to the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC).
In October 2023, it was announced that Rodman’s Neck would be headed toward a Construction Management/Build (CM) program. This allows for the city to select the construction team that offers the best value, as opposed to the cheapest bid. It will also permit the range to stay in operation during construction. The city is in the middle of securing a CM firm now. The firm will bid out the construction work and a contractor would be selected possibly by the end of this year, with construction estimated to start in early 2025.
“I hope this change of plans leads to a higher quality contractor being selected and for the work to include full enclosure of the range,” John Doyle, president of the nonprofit City Island Rising, told the Bronx Times.
Denisse Moreno, public information officer for the NYC DDC, told the Bronx Times there is $300 million allocated for this project. She also said the new enclosed range will conform to acceptable levels for users and will mitigate noise pollution for nearby neighborhoods.
In 2021, the Police Department announced that it will install temporary baffling, a sound proofing infrastructure, by April 2022 and construct a permanent indoor shooting range by 2026 at Rodman’s Neck, a 54-acre police shooting range on City Island that is used for handgun and rifle practice, and qualification by the NYPD, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.
However, the temporary baffling never came to fruition and the NYPD could not be reached for comment to provide an explanation.
In 2007, residents of the area were told the shooting range would move to an indoor facility in College Point, Queens, but those plans fell through. Due to shortages in funding, the move was canceled, and it was deemed cheaper to renovate Rodman’s Neck for $275 million.
The battle over the range has persisted through four administrations. Former Mayor David Dinkins promised soundproofing in the ’90s and so did former mayors Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio.
