The NYTimes has a feature story on the expansion of surveillance cameras in NYC residences. Here's a few choice quotes:
- "Increasingly, [surveillance] equipment is becoming part of building 'décor.'"
- "Security rules, and privacy concerns go out the window — the one with the camera attached. Big Brother, come on over and bring your friends."
- "Condo and co-op boards are governed by the so-called business judgment rule. 'If they feel video surveillance equipment is necessary somewhere,' he said, 'generally that decision shouldn’t be challenged.”
- "But brokers and marketing brochures are unlikely to bring up the fact that a building has cameras here and cameras there. “Mentioning safety and security can be, as much as any, a red flag to potential buyers. They’ll think, ‘Oh, are there problems with crime around here?’"
- "American Security Systems, estimates that a full surveillance system costs a building between $3,000 and $20,000, depending on whether it’s necessary to run pipes for the wiring."
- "The resident manager of a co-op in the East 50s: 'There have been stickups on the street and I had beautiful pictures and the police were able to catch the guys. Detectives will call me fairly often and give me the time frame of an incident and I start reviewing the video.'"
- "When a pedestrian fell in front of the co-op, and sued the building for $8 million, things looked bleak. 'But the surveillance camera on the perimeter of the building had recorded what happened,” he said, “and the judge threw the case out.'"