Steve Guttenberg Rolls Over In His Grave*

What costs $1 billion? Half of the proposed 7 train extension . . . most of the new Yankee Stadium . . . twelve minutes of war in Iraq . . . oh, and a new police academy:

The city’s police department is set to get a new $1 billion training academy in Queens to replace its dated and cramped facility, which opened when President Johnson was in the White House.

The new site, on which the city is aiming to break ground in 2009, will be a state-of-the-art, college-style campus that will include a mock streetscape and subway platform for terrorism drills, a firing range, and dozens of other facilities.

Mayor Bloomberg referred to the planned 30-acre site as a “single public safety campus,” and said one of its biggest virtues will be its capacity to consolidate the academy’s three main programs under one roof. For years, they have been scattered across three boroughs, requiring teachers and cadets to commute a triangle of roadways.

“We estimate that building a new training campus will cost over $1 billion,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “Now, that sounds like a lot of money, but this is a smart and essential investment.”

Sounds like a lot of money? Eh . . . what’s another $1 billion?

*Apologies to Steve Guttenberg, who is in fact still alive.