For Falls Police Officer Dan Bird, going to work at 496 19th St. will be like a homecoming.

“I used to play in this place when it was Topper’s Tavern,” Bird recalled. “It was the mid-’80s and I was a drummer in a band. I played here probably twice a month.”

Now, Bird and fellow Falls Officer Mike Corcoran will make a return to Topper’s only this time the former nightclub has been transformed into the Falls’ newest police substation. The product of more than a year of planning, the new police presence in what even cops call a “combat zone” is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

“I think it’s a great addition to the neighborhood,” said Patricia Frederick, president of the East Side Block Club, whose territory includes the 19th Street corridor. “We are seeing some new businesses trying to get a start here, so having an additional police presence is a great benefit for them. We’ve been waiting a very, very long time for this.”

Falls Police Superintendent John Chella says his department is ready to get to work when the substation officially opens Tuesday.

“We are there for one specific purpose,” Chella said. “Highland Avenue was transformed beautifully (by the police substation located there) and we hope to do the same with 19th Street.”

The new substation is being funded through the city’s Department of Community Development using federal block grant dollars. It is located within the boundaries of the Falls’ proposed new South End Weed and Seed District.

“This has been a long time coming and a lot of people have been for waiting for it,” said Allen Booker, the city’s Weed and Seed coordinator and community policing liaison. “This is going to help (the pending South End Weed and Seed application).”

Police also said surveillance cameras will be introduced into the area in the near future. Bird and Corcoran say their presence will be a culture change for the community.

“Our presence here is going to be noticeable,” Bird said. “We’ll be here in the substation, sometimes we may be on foot patrol or we may even be together in an unmarked car.”

The officers said they will use information developed by the department’s field intelligence operations to help determine when and where they should be while they’re on duty.

“This is going to be a zero tolerance crime area,” Corcoran said. “We’ll attack the quality of life crimes.”

There will be plenty for Bird and Corcoran to do. The 19th Street corridor has been one of the city’s most violent and crime plagued areas in recent years.

“We could spend seven of our eight hours (on duty) in that three blocks and continually make arrests, quality of life arrests,” Roving Anti-Crime Unit Officer Joe Palermo said earlier this year.

RAC officers and regular patrol units spend large amounts of time policing the area.

“It’s the whole prevailing attitude of lawlessness there,” Falls Police Detective Capt. Ernest Palmer said. “It seems like half the violent crime (in the city), occurs in a two block area there.”

Bird is currently assigned to the Highland Avenue substation, while Corcoran works out of the 18th Street Community Resource Center. They will continue in those posts, while adding the 19th Street duties.

“Our shifts are very flexible,” Corcoran said. “So we’ll be able to spend considerable time (at the 19th Street substation).”

Police Superintendent John Chella has said he’s hopeful that if the South End Weed and Seed application is approved, the substation eventually could be expanded into a community center like the one on 18th Street.

Frederick said having additional community services available at the substation would be nice but for right now, cleaning up the streets is the top priority.

“People are afraid to be out on their porches and walking around, so it’s a question of quality of life and safety first,” Frederick said. “I want to be able to drive and walk down the street without being harassed.”

Bird and Corcoran said they expect to get quick results.

“The word (that cops are around) gets out very quick,” Corcoran said. “People who have warrants won’t be just walking by here.”

While it may not be quite as much fun as banging out tunes on the drums, Bird said he’s looking forward to returning to his old 19th Street hangout.

“I’m excited, I’m looking forward to the challenge here,’ he said. “There are big challenges in this area. It’s been a hot spot for years.”

Contact reporter Rick Pfeiffer

at 282-2311, ext. 2252.