Frank Milazzo named chief of DEP Police

Posted 12/30/20

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has named Frank J. Milazzo of Marlboro as chief of its police department. He assumed his new rank last week, during a socially-distanced …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Frank Milazzo named chief of DEP Police

Posted

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has named Frank J. Milazzo of Marlboro as chief of its police department. He assumed his new rank last week, during a socially-distanced ceremony at the DEP Police Academy in Kingston.

Milazzo was appointed to the DEP Police in 1995 and began his career on patrol assigned to the Croton Precinct. He was promoted to detective in July 1997; sergeant in December 1997; lieutenant in April 2000; captain in December 2001; inspector in July 2007; deputy chief in April 2013 and assistant chief in September 2015. He has served in the Croton and Hillview Precincts and the Police Directors Office.

Currently the bureau administrator, Milazzo previously served as the commanding officer of the Chief of Departments Office; the Special Operations Division Commander; the West-of-Hudson Patrol Division Commander and the Hillview Precinct Commander. Milazzo earned an associate’s degree from the Culinary Institute of America. Prior to his service with the DEP Police, he served with the Town of Marlborough and Town of Fishkill police departments for eight years. He is currently serving as president of the Marlboro Central school District Board of Education.

The division traces its roots back to the Bureau of Water Supply Police, which was created through the 1905 Water Supply Act. It was not until 1907 that the first provisional appointees were hired and assigned. On July 9, 1908, the first permanent police officers were appointed and assigned to precincts in Peekskill, Garrison, Brown’s Station, and High Falls. The Bureau of Water Supply Police was the first police agency in upstate New York with a multiple county police jurisdiction.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of high-quality water each day to more than 9.3 million New Yorkers. This includes more than 70 upstate communities and institutions in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties who consume an average of 110 million total gallons of drinking water daily from New York City’s water supply system. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles.

the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $168.9 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.7 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council—that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity.