Big Gigantic Brother: NY Village Installs 44 Traffic Cameras in Town of 5,000 People
- Posted on April 26, 2011 at 1:49pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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It’s supposed to make the village townsfolk feel safe. But is it just another example of big brother gone too far?
The town of Kings Point, NY has installed 44 traffic cameras that will monitor 19 town entrances and exists. But those cameras aren’t just there to keep a watchful, they’re actively looking for criminals. The blog Simple Justice explains (via Newsday):
The 3.3-square-mile North Shore enclave of Kings Point is launching a far-reaching surveillance network that can compare the license plate of every car going into the village against federal and state crime databases such as most-wanted lists, stolen vehicle alerts and suspected terrorist files.
When the project is completed, 44 cameras will monitor 19 entrances into the village in what may be one of the most extensive municipal tracking programs anywhere.
The number of cameras equals about one for every 120 people in the village of 5,305 people. Kings Point, a community of million-dollar homes, sits on the Great Neck peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water.
44 cameras in a town of just over 5,000? One camera for every 120 people? Might that be a little overkill?
“Mayor Michael Kalnick said the tracking program is necessary to protect residents, but privacy and civil rights groups consider it an overreaching intrusion,” Newsday says.
And when you look at the crime stats, the mayor’s argument is almost laughable. According to Simple Justice, Kings Point had 19 property crimes and one violent crime in 2010.
Given the facts, even the New York Civil Liberties Union (founded as a branch of the ACLU) is against the cameras.
“When we talk about installing an intense surveillance system like these, there needs to be intense public debate,” Samantha Fredrickson, director of the gorup’s Nassau County chapter, told Newday. “It’s just another example of the government watching and keeping track of what we do in our personal time. It just doesn’t seem necessary.”
“Fortunately, [town mayor Michael] Kalnick has yet to consider enacting a law requiring every non-resident to enter the village to submit to a cavity search,” Simply Justice Writes. “After all, you don’t want to wait for crime to happen, do you?”
Gawker notices puts it a different way: “You know what else has cameras constantly on the look-out for criminals? The entrance of a prison!”
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Comments (149)
Windsong
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:32pmOh, gosh, New York, do tell us how badly you want to reduce the deficit. Do go to Congress requesting more funds…for anything! I’ll save you the trouble. You are a joke and do NOT have the best interest of anything American in your hearts. We’ve thought that often, but weren’t really sure….until now.
Report Post »You just lost future arguments about anything because you didn’t just talk the talk this time…you simply proved your stupidity.
mrsmileyface
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 5:32pmAfter 9/11 we were all New Yorkers. Now I cant even stand to hear the name. The Empire state has become a full fledged Nanny State. I have no intrest now and in the near future to do any buisness in the Nanny State of New York. Enjoy yourselves slaves its what you voted for.
Report Post »ed0315
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:31pmRWS pellet rifle, 1100 fps. with scope. Goodbye cameras!
Report Post »Mil-Dot
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:45pmMost New Yorkers are mindless salamanders anyway. They wouldn’t care if they put a camera in their living rooms. “Well, if it keeps me safe…..(hands wringing, “gulp”, sniff)
Report Post »Augustina
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:27pmthese cameras are on every street corner over here. When I called City Hall and asked why so many cameras, she lied and said, “they are only at major intersections.” They are EVERYWHERE! I asked her what’s the purpose of them..she said it was only to keep track of how many cars go through the intersection. I said, you can have a “counter” without a camera. Again, I asked, “Why the camera, what are they looking at?” She said she had to go ask some one..comes back on the phone and says the camera only can tell the color of the cars. i told her as a taxpayer, I’d like to see what they see in these cameras. Was transferred from one dept to another, all saying that it would be impossible for the public to be allowed to view. There is a judge here who says alos, that the van-cameras are illegal. They you do NOT have to pay the chg that they send you through the mail. I found out he is absolutely right!
Report Post »Sayre
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:26pmReminds me of back during the Clinton Regime wanting to put a “cop on every corner”… you know, to make us safe! It stimulated those nostalgic thoughts of how much I’ve always wanted to live in a police state!
As for these cameras… That eternal optimist George Orwell would be proud. Point of fact, more cameras, more police do not make us safer. Think about it, there cops on every block in a prison and we all know how safe prisons are! I swear upon the altar of God, eternal hostility to every form of tyranny over the mind of man! Thomas Jefferson who also said Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God
Report Post »Susan Harkins
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:25pmNothing wrong with villages doing what makes them feel good.
I for one, live in the boondocks — my cup of tea. :-)
Report Post »the hawk
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:15pmWell it’s 2011 wheres the flying cars? Reminds me ofthe movie Demolution man? Sly stalone.
Report Post »Police state Police state police state it’s Gov, gone Mad ! ! Coming to a Town neer you ! ! !
I’m gonna start to get my passports! ! !
Susan Harkins
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:27pmHawk, you are fined 3 credits for verbal abuse, regarding section three on decibel transmissions, of the City Communications Act.
Report Post »trooper
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:13pmSounds like they realize that guard towers, razor wire and walls maybe necessary to keep the vermin out in the long run. Please provide me with Century 21 contacts in the area, I AM VERY INTERESTED IN PURCHASING A SECURE HOME IN THEIR COMMUNITY!
Report Post »chiefparker
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:10pm“The Prisoner”
Report Post »broman
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:09pmSept. 1st 2008 – Obama’s own cabinet member, Gov. Bill Richardson slips at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado and tells TV viewers that “Barack Obama is an immigrant…he is one of us…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wba6LUpeadk&feature=related
Report Post »wash1776
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:07pmPeople that run things in this country be it they the police, unions, schools, politicians, et al will never quit finding ways to pile more expenses on us because they are greedy, wasteful and corrupt. This type of pocket dipping will never end. It is not for safety’s sake. It is just greed and corruption.
Report Post »Juan Gault
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:31pmit also appears the tax revenue in this town,is more than what is NEEDED.
Report Post »RJHollydog
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:06pm“if it keeps people safe I’m not against it”?
Report Post »Are you kidding?
Why not require all humans to be locked in their homes when not working for the state? It would keep us safe-
travlman77
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:06pmHow about taking them down and put them on the border, not enough of them, but it would be a good start.
Report Post »Mil-Dot
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:39pmThey are not afraid of criminals. They are afraid of US. They have screwed this country up so bad they know that someday soon we will come for them. They want as much warning as they can get.
Report Post »integrican
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:06pmThey could have saved a ton of money by simply ASKING the criminals to ‘sign-in’ at the front gate. ; )
Report Post »TRUTH
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:04pmAlmost makes sense. People might try to get away with more things in a very small quiet town.
Report Post »crackerone
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:53pmI don’t know? All the nice quiet towns I grew up in, we didn’t lock the doors. Can’t remember anything justifying cameras blanketing the town!
Report Post »Issachar
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 3:39pmHey Truth, you heading to one of those little towns? just asking?
Report Post »RJHollydog
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:03pmIt just scares me, this type of action. The justifications are a ruse. A few years back when that Will Smith movie came out about a group in the NSA going off the deep end seemed so far-fetched. But everyday we see more and more control, less and less freedom, how will it end?
Report Post »unsalvageable.org
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:06pmRead the book of Revelations to see how it will end.
Report Post »http://www.unsalvageable.org
Juan Gault
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:29pmBadly, i’m afraid.
Report Post »frustratedwithgovt
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:02pmI’m pretty sure a town of 5K has better uses for those tax dollars…..
trooper
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:00pmSounds like a smart thing to do in order to film crimes, arrest and convict the criminals that prowl our streets today. 99% of which are black, check out the “First48” and call me in the morning.
Report Post »dave928
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:47pmMr. Trooper. These are Traffic Cameras. They do nothing but catch “speeders” and “red light runners” and send them a $100+ ticket in the mail. They have nothing to do with catching murderers and the like unless they happen to commit the crime in the middle of one of the intersections where they are stationed.
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:00pmJanet Noplantogoto is pleased and proud of them.
Report Post »Obama Snake Oil Co
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:00pmHaving gotten a ticket in Raleigh NC several years ago…it has thus been thrown out. The problems, they shorten the yellow light…no kidding. I got the picture in the mail along with the fine. The problem…my girl told me there was not way to make it through it if you got caught on yellow. As I returned to the scene of my crime to observe…she was right. If you are running 55-60, it was impossible to clear the intersection before it turned red. Of course, fifty bucks didn’t warrant a challenge in court…..good luck comrads.
Report Post »salvawhoray
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 1:59pmwe are the walking dead.
Report Post »Deanna in Missouri
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 1:56pmThe town of Kings Point, NY has installed 44 traffic cameras that will monitor 19 town entrances and exists.
You mean “exits”?
Report Post »Issachar
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:36pmthe point was made, sounds like you’d make a fine editor for the NY Crimes…
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 1:56pmThe residents should all attend the town hall and demand that the cameras come down. A village of 5,000 people carry a lot more clout locally with local politicians than they think. If there is overwhelming support in the community for having these cameras removed, they will be removed. If they are not, there will be political consequences to pay I’d suspect. If they cannot must enough support to get opposition to these, then the village deserves what it gets, privacy wise.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:03pmEDIT: must = muster
Report Post »Mr. Nice Guy
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:13pmIt would sure be nice if the article mentioned what the residents of the town think about the cameras. If they’re in favor of them then so be it. If they oppose them then … what you said!
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 4:05pmIt’s New York just outside of Long Island. They are probably a bunch of liberals who want the cameras to FEEL SAFE.
Report Post »NavDSVet
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 4:29pmIt is a small, rich, liberal enclave that is home to a federal service academy. The camaeras are likely intended to ‘protect’ the citizens from the midshipmen of the United Staes Merchant Marine Academy …
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 4:48pmThat explains it. The liberals are afraid of people that work for a living.
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 1:56pmShoot them out.
Report Post »dave928
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:41pmThat’s what I was thinking too. But the next thing you know, they’ll be granting “civil rights” to these “robocops” making it the equivalent of killing a live policeman. Not that I condone killing a policeman. Nothing could be further from the truth. But these cameras are nothing more than unconstitutional revenue generators.
Report Post »longun45
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 9:32pmNAW they can have them. They are just waiting to put up the walls and man the guard towers to keep every one in.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 1:55pmWho cares what privacy and civil rights groups think – what do the people of this town think? Did they ask and vote for these cameras? If this community is as upscale as they lead us to believe, doesn’t every house have its own system? More info would be good concerning citizen opinion.
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:25pmExcellent questions! Even though I would be opposed to anything like that where I live, I would demand a town council debate & town vote. There could be multiple reasons the town is in favor of this – maybe they did vote for it. Or maybe it was implemented without their input.
Report Post »Mil-Dot
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:36pmMore than likely it was implemented without any input. Since when does govt give a rats aZZ what the people think?
Report Post »Issachar
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:50pmTo all the safety NAZI’s out there, there is a saying:
Your control over my life, ends at your front door.
Isn’t that so special.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 3:05pm@Grandmaof5
Afternoon, I agree with you, did these people want this? I honestly have to believe they did not. This smacks too much of another example of the Fed govt moving in to make an area ‘security aware’ and then just leave them in place with the intent to just control the people.
As someone once said about the government, it is easier to create something (i.e. security need), than to later attempt to dismantle the same thing. (i.e. the power and control gained over these folks lives by the fed.)
Hope all is well with you and the kitties. Glad you liked the SNOW picture as well.
Report Post »code green
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 3:10pmThe cameras have absolutly nothing to do with safety at all. It is the income from the tickets that are written without the need to pay an officer, and the cost of the gas he uses.
Report Post »They are the reason I always leave the tail gate down on my truck. The angle is too great to read the tag from the high cameras.All well and good unless you live in this small town where everyone knows your truck.
vennoye
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 4:41pmDear citizens of Kings Point, here are your tax dollars at work………..so we can watch you all the time!! Please smile constantly–you definately are the STAR!!
Report Post »NYSTREETKID
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 9:52pmIt does not matter what the town or 99% of the people want. No has the right to take freedom from the other 1%. The bill of rights and in a republic the rule of law matters not what one group no matter who large can over ride the law. justice is for 1 as will as 1000000. no diffrent,
Report Post »unsalvageable.org
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 1:53pmEvery day we see Big Brother reach a little further. One day soon we won’t have any freedoms left or the right to complain about it. We MUST take our country back! http://www.unsalvageable.org
Report Post »theonefromabove
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:01pmIf it keeps people safe I am not against it.
http://politicalbowl.com – Politlcal Videos
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:01pmRed Alert Red Alert
A Black man has just entered Kings Point. And he is not driving lawn care truck. Send the Swat Team to pick him up.
But this could never happen. Right??
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:02pmA village of idiots, I wonder if any of them can cross the street by themselves.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:06pmOK we will not do 44 cameras…. how about 34 instead? (nudge)
IF it keeps them safe?
Report Post »I want to be safe for the government; PERIOD.
Come on my property uninvited……………………….
Stoic one
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:07pmTHEONEFROMABOVE
Report Post »Look at the crime statistics for the year before; it is in the article.
Cemoto78
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:29pmWhat this amounts to is for a Town, Village, City, County, whatever, trying to find new and easier ways to boost their already defunct budgets. This is related to all those red light and speeding cameras being promoted all over the country. Every time you listen to their council meetings, board meetings, etc., they always say this is for the safety of our residents and not for revenue. When you have to make the constant spiel of this is not for revenue enhancements, then you know this is exactly what it is for. The companies pushing this stuff, Red Flex for one, always says the same thing, however, they get a cut in the revenue too. This crap being promoted by politicians and private entities using the new buzz words of “public private partnerships, always raises the hairs on the back of my neck cause I know the citizen is about to take it in the wallet again.
Report Post »anutter
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:32pmYou used to be able to look over your shoulder when you scratched your butt to make sure noone was watching. Not so anymore in this town.
Report Post »Issachar
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:33pmThe Gov’t is reaching up my butt already, I need an enima, HELLLLLLLP MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Report Post »Mil-Dot
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:34pm@ The one from above
Report Post »You are the problem. Get out of my country. Move to Russia or Great Britain or something. What a lemming.
Dale
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:36pmDarmok and Jalad at Tanagra;
“A village of idiots, I wonder if any of them can cross the street by themselves.”
Report Post »—————————————–
Don’t condemn the citizenry for a progressive mayor – I know we have one.
Issachar
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:38pm@the one from below – if it makes you feel any safer we can install one in the sideways crack you have there?
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:48pmWe knew this was coming, Napoletano and the Homeland Security have been pushing farther and farther into what few liberties we have left; and soon enough, there will be nothing the government will not be able to do to us, in each and every part of our lives.
Report Post »BetterDays
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:55pmIt’s the ones in the hotel toilets that creep me out, I think they went a tad overboard, like 41 cameras overboard.
Report Post »But they did have a whopping 19 crimes and 1 violent crime last year, so I’m sure that statistics will back up their reasoning for 5000 more cameras by 6793 ad.
Are people brain dead, never mind.
BlueStrat
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:56pmAre we sure the town’s name is really “Kings Point” or is it actually “Raccoon City”? Are the cameras being supplied by “Umbrella Corporation”?
Report Post »xredcoat
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:57pmYou control our world. You’ve poisoned the air we breathe, contaminated the water we drink, and copyrighted the food we eat. We fight in your wars, die for your causes, and sacrifice our freedoms to protect you. You’ve liquidated our savings, destroyed our middle class, and used our tax dollars to bailout your unending greed. We are slaves to your corporations, zombies to your airwaves, servants to your decadence. You’ve stolen our elections, assassinated our leaders, and abolished our basic rights as human beings. You own our property, shipped away our jobs, and shredded our unions. You’ve profited off of disaster, destabilized our currencies, and raised our cost of living. You’ve monopolized our freedom, stripped away our education, and have almost extinguished our flame. We are hit… we are bleeding… but we ain’t got time to bleed. We will bring the giants to their knees and you will witness our revolution! – Jess Venture
Report Post »Insanityrules
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:58pmYeah. Anything for safety. How about getting rid of everyone that doesn’t agree with the direction government is going…… if it keeps us safe………………..
Report Post »Bennie Franklin
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:59pmtheonefromabove “If it keeps people safe I am not against it.”
exactly how is putting cameras up going to stop a crime from happening? Cameras do not stop crimes, the police do not stop crimes. They just clean up after the crime is committed. The only real persons that can stop crimes are individuals with personal protection and a large dog.
Report Post »123gone
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 3:08pmWait until they mine the beaches.
Report Post »Sinista MACE
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 3:23pmHoly Panopticon, Batman!
Report Post »right-wing-waco
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 3:24pm3 comments: 1)Is this area a “conservative” area?? 2)All residents should put on Obama masks when they are in view of the cameras and find some way to make their license plates invisible to the cameras. 3)Maybe the cameras will continually be destroyed by “natural phenomena”. ;< )
Report Post »Goobergregory
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 3:25pmWhen I lived in Denver I would purposefully avoid any stop lights on my way home and to work because they were on all major intersections. I lived in the suburbs, not Denver proper… It just felt wrong. Glad I live in the boonies now!
Report Post »right-wing-waco
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 3:32pmThe book…. “1984”.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 3:50pmWell that’s one town .. I wouldn’t go visit ie spend money in. IF I lived there I would try to move … pretty hard these days with OBAMA tanking the economy DAILY!
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 3:59pmIs their crime rate that high as to justify the expense? How about a place like NYC? You listening Bloomberg?
Report Post »country_hick
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 4:21pmtheonefromabove
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 2:01pm
If it keeps people safe I am not against it.
I’m sure that installing a camera on each of your house doors, including garage doors, and one in every bedroom, one in every bathroom, two in the living room and family room and one in the kitchen will keep you MUCH safer.
Let me know when you write your local PD and give them permission to do it.
Report Post »Sevens
Posted on April 26, 2011 at 5:35pmTime to purchase those license plate covers that make it impossible for the camera’s to get anyones license plate number!!!!!!
Report Post »EP46
Posted on April 27, 2011 at 6:06am@ theonefromabove “If it keeps people safe I am not against it”…….Think about it a little more. Safe from ????? Safe from a government that wants to destroy you ???? This is how people go begging for help…from the very ones who are destroying them. This is a clear and present danger, not ‘a helping hand’.
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