White Plains' Galleria mall used for active shooter drills, rescue simulations and more

WHITE PLAINS — While police officers worked to rescue a person who had fallen down an elevator shaft, another group was helping a person who fell from a two-story ledge.

These were scenarios simulated at the former Galleria mall as Westchester County Emergency Service Unit members used the shuttered mall for training in April.

Although the mall itself has been closed to the public for a year, the Galleria has opened its doors to local police and fire officers for educational purposes. So far, Westchester County Emergency Service Unit and White Plains EMS, police and fire departments have conducted training at the site at no cost.

White Plains public safety commissioner David Chong said the mall being vacant has offered an opportunity for the officers to train more frequently with more flexibility. They've held tactical simulations at the mall before, once or twice a year — but in the past, they've had to wait until the mall was closed for the night.

The former Galleria mall was ranked as the ninth largest taxpayer in White Plains in 2023 , and has already contributed about $118,892 to city tax revenues this year, according to city records. A $2 billion redevelopment plan that calls for replacing the vacant mall with seven residential towers with 3,200 apartments could take up to a decade to complete . The mall will remain vacant until the plan is finalized, which is anticipated to take 12-15 months.

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Vacant Galleria allows White Plains to conduct 'true to life training'

Geoff Thompson, spokesperson for the Galleria, said the property owner is happy to provide the space for training as long as the building is standing.

With the Galleria still vacant, a dozen trainings have been held over the past three months in the complex, including active shooter, mass rescue, hostage and fire rescue drills for about 200 trainees.

“The partnership is great,” Chong said. “It’s true to life training. To be able to have an empty mall where we can set up our own scenario is really beneficial.”

Kieran O’Leary, spokesperson at Westchester County Department of Public Safety, said the county emergency service unit members conducted a night of training at the mall in April, in which they honed skills in high angle rope rescue.

The emergency service unit members train at least once a month, and always look for a variety of environments to simulate what they might encounter in real-world situations. They've trained at spaces similar to the Galleria mall, like the former United Hospital in Port Chester, county parks that have cliff faces or other steep terrain, bridge structures, railroad tracks, Bee-Line buses, frozen lakes and more.

“Basically, they look for all kinds of locations where emergency responses have occurred or potentially would be needed,” O’Leary said.

Helu Wang covers development and real estate for The Journal News/lohud and USA Today Network. Reach her at hwang@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: White Plains' Galleria mall used for active shooter drills, rescue simulations and more