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Border Patrol has new G.I. presence by Karen Keefe
Grand Island has a new business resident that is bringing prestige and praise to the town. As of last fall, the U.S. Border Patrol’s Buffalo Sector is headquartered at 201 Lang Blvd., in a 35,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building. The sleek new headquarters replaces what had become a cramped and run-down facility in Tonawanda. “We feel like ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’ ” quipped Chief Patrol Agency Peter Moran, in discussing the upgrade to more modern facilities. Grand Island was chosen as the site, not for tactical reasons so much as because of its easy access within the sector – the proximity to the Thruway, lodging and the like, Border Patrol officials said. Councilman Gary Roesch recently toured the facility with fellow Town Board members Mary Cooke and Dick Crawford. “It’s definitely a plus for Grand Island,” Roesch said. “It’s a beautiful building … something we should be proud of.” Roesch said the facility is an “economic incentive for Grand Island,” insofar as the developer, Acquest, bought the property and building and is paying full taxes on the facility. The border patrol leases it from Acquest. Administrative Support The headquarters, with about 40 staffers, carries out all the administrative support services needed for the field agents from the six Border Patrol stations along the Niagara River, the eastern shore of Lake Erie and the southern, western and eastern shores of Lake Ontario. The sector encompasses 341 miles of international border, and includes stations in Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Erie, Pa., Rochester, Oswego and Wellesley Island. Within the walls at the new building are administrative staff offices, an intelligence unit, the dispatch room, storage for seized evidence, a garage, a full-fledged vehicle maintenance facility, conference and training rooms and even a fitness room. High-tech equipment is standard here, and is always being upgraded – from night vision scopes to sophisticated cameras and scanning devices.
Radio Room is Critical “The radio room is the most critical part of the whole building,” said Michael E. Przybyl, assistant chief patrol agent. From this room, headquarters staff can communicate with field agents, monitor feeds from every security camera in the sector and check all databases in coordinating apprehension of suspects. There is a fusion center in the sector headquarters, where Border Patrol staff work with agents of the U.S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, the Office of Field Operations, Immigration and Customs enforcement staff and state and local law enforcement agents. “We’ve grown exponentially,” Przybyl said of the Border Patrol’s expansion in the past several years. “It’s the biggest growth since 911.” Since the World Trade Center disaster of Sept. 11, 2001, the war on terror is a big part of the Border Patrol’s job, under its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security. Recent Apprehension on Niagara The mission of the Border Patrol and its 12,000 agents is to prevent and detect the entry of illegal aliens and contraband into the United States by patrolling from land, air and water. There’s recent evidence of their work right here on Grand Island’s shores. On Feb. 5, the Border Patrol apprehended a Fort Erie, Ontario, resident on charges of illegal entry when he was discovered floating on a raft in the icy Niagara River near East River and Winkler roads. Wayne Kingwell, 40, told agents he wanted to pay some bills in the United States. The incident first was reported by a Grand island resident, Bob Redfern, who was concerned about what he saw in the river from his back patio. “We have interdicted significant threats and seizures based on information received from citizens,” Przybyl said. He encourages regular citizens to be vigilant and report anything that seems unusual along the border. “It’s important that the public knows we’re out there.” “There’s no such thing as making a bad report.” He assured that there is always at least one Border Patrol agent on Grand Island, monitoring the river.
‘Lucky to Have Them Here’ Dorothy Bitner, a member of Grand Island Flotilla 35 of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary also took a recent tour of the new Border Patrol. “I was amazed at the equipment they have for detecting illegal crossings. They’re really doing a good job,” she observed. “They’re on the ball 24/7. We’re lucky to have them here.” Bitner was impressed with a big screen in the communications/dispatch area showing the feeds from sophisticated cameras along the lower Niagara River near the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. Przybyl personally likes the Grand Island location for the headquarters. He is an Island resident who now enjoys the fact that he lives where he works. He and his wife, Patty, have an 8-year-old son, Sammy. Przybyl is a Little League coach and an assistant Cub master with Pack 630, which is based at St. Stephen’s Church. “I had nothing to do with the selection, but I was really happy.”
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