In the aftermath of a tragic and terrible stabbing, there has been an outcry for more surveillance cameras in NYC public housing, a change of pace from the frequent criticisms of video surveillance.
A boy and a girl were stabbed by an unknown assailant in an elevator. The only witness was the girl who was stabbed and there were no surveillance cameras.
The outcry for surveillance was quick:
- "Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, said in an interview that at least $400,000 had been allocated in 2010 for cameras to be installed in the buildings there but that the housing authority failed to act."
- "A former City Council member, Charles Barron, who represented the neighborhood, said he allocated funding for cameras both in 2010 and 2013. “There’s no reason we shouldn’t have cameras in all of these developments,”
- "A representative of the housing authority said officials were still looking into the matter but insisted that it had been working to install cameras throughout the vast system of public housing."
- "The authority is responsible for the management of 334 developments with 2,600 buildings, 3,300 elevators, and thousands more entryways, stairwells and hallways. The authority estimates that it would cost at least $200 million to install “an ideal network of NY City House Authority security cameras,” according to its website."
And that is, unfortunately, a key driver for spurring the use of surveillance cameras.