Uncle Steve is Watching...

 

 NY Post

Here’s one New Yorker who is not jumping on the Mets’ bandwagon.

The team uses facial recognition technology to collect information on unsuspecting Citi Field patrons, claims Chris Dowling in a new class-action lawsuit.

Citi Field cameras “at the main fan entrance” collect “facial identifiers” from patrons as they enter the stadium, and the Mets have third parties processing the data to find people on the team’s “black list,” Dowling alleged in a Brooklyn Federal Court filing.

While the Mets have publicly acknowledged they use facial recognition for security purposes, Dowling claims they use the information gleaned “for value or profit,” which violates the New York City Biometrics Law, the suit says.

Mets fans on Reddit “have detailed the use of facial recognition by Citi Field which has been weaponized against them,” according to the lawsuit.

 “I realized it when they made me take off my hat to walk through the metal detector,” said the poster. “I was confused [because] the detector would pick up anything I am trying to hide in my hat! After the third time, I realized it was because my hat was hiding my face and blocking their scan. I do not like it one bit.”

 The facial recognition tech is a breach of privacy, critics charge, and similar to Madison Square Garden’s controversial facial recognition tech.

The Mets “increase their profit margin when they choose to use facial recognition as opposed to using manual labor to adequately protect its 400,000 square foot premises,” the suit argues.

The Mets allow fans who opt-in to use facial recognition technology to enter the ballpark without paper or digital tickets, a feature the team introduced in 2002 and calls Mets Entry Express.

 “It’s a slippery slope,” Nate Wessler, a facial recognition litigation expert with the American Civil Liberties Union told The Post. “When people buy a ticket to a ball game, they expect to turn over money in exchange for a seat. They don’t expect that they’re also giving the company permission to track them based on the unique features of our faces.”

Tenant kills his landlord

NY Post

 A deadbeat, rent-owing tenant shoved his Queens landlord down their building’s front stairs so hard on Sunday that the man later died — and the whole thing was caught on the home’s security camera, the victim’s grandson and police sources told the Post.

Landlord Edgar Moncayo, 71, was trying to collect rent around 3 p.m. at his 102nd Street building in Corona when 22-year-old tenant Alex Garces allegedly pushed him down the stairs, cops said.
His grandson, Nicolas Jativa, 20, told the Post that Moncayo was pronounced dead at 12:30 p.m. Monday after being on life support with head trauma at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst.

“My grandmother wasn’t home when this happened, she was on her way back home already when she got a call from a neighbor telling her what had happened,” the grieving grandson said. “As soon as she saw my grandfather she just dropped to her knees and started crying. I didn’t believe it until I saw the video for myself and it’s horrible.”

Police attributed Moncayo’s injuries to a landlord-tenant dispute and were looking for Garces and possibly a second person for questioning, according to officials.

The tenant initially told cops the fall was an accident that happened as he tried to carry his mattress out of the building and hit the front door, causing Moncayo to fall, police sources said.
But the landlord’s family reviewed video from the Ring video camera installed on their door and saw a horrifying series of events unfold.

In the video, the victim can be seen standing in front of the building on the phone with his wife trying to hold the door shut to keep Garces from leaving, the grandson said. The tenant was able to get the door open, however, and allegedly pushed the landlord down the steps, where his head hit the concrete, he said.

Jimmy Van Bramer calls for more surveillance cameras to stop parking in bike lanes

Sunnyside Post
 
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer joined forces with members of Transportation Alternatives in Long Island City this morning to condemn motorists who block sidewalks, bike lanes and crosswalks—and to call on the NYPD to ticket these drivers.

Van Bramer also announced his support for a pilot program that would bring 20 cameras to the streets of New York tasked with catching drivers who block bicycle lanes and pedestrian pathways. The program, which is likely to be introduced as a bill before the council, is part of Transportation Alternatives’ new #TechforSafety campaign.

 When cars turn our sidewalks into parking lots and block our bike lanes and crosswalks, they put pedestrians and cyclists in danger,” Van Bramer said. “The NYPD must step up its enforcement against illegal parking and ticket and tow cars that are blatantly breaking the law. We need a comprehensive, zero-tolerance policy and legislation to increase penalties.”

Sure we need more enforcement of habitual pig parking offenders, but more cameras on the streets is not the answer and any ideas from TransAlt are always bad.

It's a short post but the comment thread is long and interesting. Notably the one dink who describes drivers as "car people"

Man hunting for package thief

From CBS 2:

A fed-up homeowner tracked down a thief who stole a package left at his Queens home.

As CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez reported, the thief looked right into a surveillance camera before snatching a box off the front stoop of Jason Gratz’s house on Beach 139th Street in Belle Harbor on Tuesday morning.

“That’s the worst thing about it – not what’s in the contents of the package. It could have been $1, it could have been $1 million, it didn’t really matter. Just the feeling of being violated like that, it really just burned me,” he told Sanchez.

Surveillance video shows the ponytailed robber pausing to eye his target before turning his black cap, contemplating his getaway, and then grabbing the package.

Gratz walked all over his neighborhood and found a construction crew at a condominium that recognized the suspect as someone who had been working at the site, which is just two blocks from his home.

He said he tracked down where the suspect works and informed police, hoping they make a quick arrest.

NYPD call boxes now in Forest Park

From DNA Info:

Joggers and cyclists frequenting Forest Park can now call for emergency help with the press of a button, thanks to several solar-powered call boxes recently installed throughout the green space.

The NYPD has already placed eight such boxes in the park, with nine more slated to be installed there by June 29, the department said.

The 500-acre green space is popular among local families and sports aficionados, but it has seen its share of violence in recent years, including a string of sexual assaults, several robberies, numerous car break-ins and a murder.

Following the series of sexual attacks, the 102nd Precinct assigned permanent patrols to monitor the park, and last summer, 14 cameras were placed in seven locations around the park, after Assemblyman Mike Miller and State Sen. Joseph Addabbo allocated $250,000 for that purpose in 2013.

Councilman Eric Ulrich, whose constituents frequent the green space, allocated $140,000 for the call boxes, hoping that they "will help to keep Forest Park visitors safe,” he said.

Assemblyman Miller also footed a portion of the bill, according to Ulrich's office.

The locations of the new call boxes, which include Metropolitan Avenue and Forest Park Drive as well as Woodhaven Boulevard and Forest Park Drive, were determined by the NYPD, officials said.

Cameras finally installed in Forest Park

From DNA Info:

After numerous delays owing to red tape in Albany, NYPD security cameras have finally been installed around Forest Park, nearly three years after the last assault in a string of sexual attacks that terrified parkgoers.

In total, 14 cameras were placed in seven locations around the 500-acre park last week, including at the entrances to the park, near main trails used by bicyclists and joggers, and close to playgrounds, officials said.

The equipment was installed after Assemblyman Mike Miller and State Sen. Joseph Addabbo allocated $250,000 for the cameras to be placed in the park back in 2013.

Officials said they hope the cameras will serve as a deterrent to crime and that they will also help identify suspects in the future.

It's all about the revenue

From AM-NY:

Transit advocates and local politicians rallied on the steps of City Hall Monday in support of bringing more school-zone speed cameras to New York City.

“We should not have to worry about a child crossing a street. That shouldn’t be matter of life or death,” said Public Advocate Letitia James at the rally. “And we know what the answers are. We have solutions.”

Safe streets advocates are pushing for the state Assembly to pass the “Every School Speed Safety Camera Act,” which would allow the city to install thousands of additional cameras near schools.

Under current state law, the city can place a maximum of 140 speed cameras near schools. Those cameras must be located within a quarter mile of a school entrance. And they can only be operational during school days for 12 hours each day.

The new bill, introduced by Manhattan Assemblywoman Deborah Glick this April, would remove the restrictions on the number of cameras and those hours of operation in New York City.

Speed cameras - not just for school hours anymore

From the Daily News:

A pair of Queens lawmakers are pushing to drastically expand the use of speed enforcement cameras in the city to cut down on traffic fatalities.

State Sen. Jose Peralta and Assemblyman Michael DenDekker, both Democrats, will unveil a package of bills Thursday that will allow speed cameras to be placed in any of the more than 2,000 school zones in the city and keep them in operation 24 hours a day.

A law adopted in 2013 allows for only 140 cameras in the city school zones and limits their operation to school hours, the lawmakers said.

Still no cameras at Forest Park

From the Queens Chronicle:

Two years after Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) secured $250,000 for surveillance cameras in Forest Park, the state Division of Budget earlier this month approved the funds, according to a spokesman at the agency.

Now, Miller said in a phone interview on Tuesday, the money must be released to the NYPD, which will purchase and install the cameras. The assemblyman hopes that process can begin before the new year.

The surveillance cameras were a major topic of discussion at last Saturday’s Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association meeting, where several residents said they would help with deterring crime in the park.

“Just like how we’re not going to let people force things down our throats, we’re not going to let people sit on things that we really need in our community,” WRBA President Martin Colberg said. “We’re at a point where there is no reason where this should still be sitting there.”

There have been some incidents in Forest Park recently that residents claim could’ve been deterred, or more easily solved by police, if cameras were present.

About two weeks ago, a body was found in the park near Woodhaven Boulevard and Myrtle Avenue. In June, a homeless man was accused of murdering a jogger around the same area.

There have also been a series of car break-ins near the park in the past few years.

Forest Park cameras a victim of red tape

From the Queens Tribune:

In 2013, Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) announced that money was allocated to place NYPD security cameras in the park in response to crimes occurring that year, including an attempted rape.

The $250,000 project, which was done in conjunction with State Sen. Joe Addabbo (D-Middle Village), aims to serve as a deterrent to crime in the park and help the local police precinct catch criminals if something does happen, Miller has said in the past.

While it was announced nearly two years ago, the plan has not yet become a reality, but appears to be happening soon.

Angel Vazquez, chief of staff for Miller’s office, said the cameras have to clear one more bureaucratic hurdle before they are placed in the park.

According to Vazquez, The Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee, as well as the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, approved the cameras and now it must get the green light from Gov. Cuomo’s State Division of Budget.

The reason for the delay, Vazquez said, was over a small conflict in deciding who would pick where the cameras are installed. Because the money was allocated to be placed in a specific area, Vazquez said Miller’s office wanted control the NYPD, to make sure the cameras were placed in Forest Park instead of another part of the city. The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

Amazing aerial footage of NYC

First featured by WPIX:

They’re awe-inspiring sights of New York City that rival any video game or Hollywood blockbuster out there, and they were captured by Bronx photographer and drone enthusiast Victor Chu.

From over the iconic Brooklyn Bridge to the famed Pepsi-Cola sign in Long Island City with of course, a pit stop at Yankees Stadium.

The sights in Chu’s “Ultimate Aerial Video of NYC! (Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island) – DJI Phantom 2” on YouTube, will give any New Yorker goose bumps.

The extreme project took several months of shooting and editing this past summer with what Chu says were plenty of close calls.

In what’s considered the most incredible shot, Chu flew his drone through the Unisphere at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, all while complying with drone rules and regulations issued in the City of New York.

Happy Friday!

Beware of who washes your car!

From the Daily News:

A dopey Queens car wash employee mistakenly slammed his foot onto a car's gas pedal instead of the brake — and ended up plowing into four lanes of traffic.

Dramatic dashboard camera footage shows the 2009 Lexus IS250 first being slowly driven through the cleaning machines in Long Island City, reports Jalopnik.com.

As the vehicle emerges from the garage, however, it suddenly lurches forward.

The driver is heard swearing in Spanish as the car narrowly avoids hitting another customer and speeds across the road.

It sideswipes one vehicle before finally coming to a stop on the opposite sidewalk.

Cameras coming to subway cars

From the Daily News:

Seeking to keep a constant electronic eye on subway perverts, the MTA is moving to put surveillance cameras in hundreds of new train cars it expects to purchase in coming years.

In a letter to Public Advocate Letitia James that was made public Wednesday, the MTA for the first time committed to making the security upgrade, which has been championed by no less than NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority also will create a new feature on its website to make it easier for victims and witnesses of sex crimes in the subway system to make a report. And the authority also intends to ramp up a public education campaign that aims to increase awareness of the threat posed by sexual predators in the subway, James announced.

Earlier this year, Bratton told the Daily News he would like to see cameras aboard subway cars because they are a useful crimefighting tool — providing valuable videotape evidence for detectives, and serving as a deterrent to those who would commit sex crimes. At the time, the MTA balked at making a commitment, saying only that it was studying the feasibility of camera use on trains.

The MTA will install cameras on 904 R211-class subway cars that it expects to order as part of its 2015-2019 capital plan.

The authority already has contracted with a manufacturer for 300 R179-class subway cars, and the first of those test cars should be delivered in December. The rest of the R179s are set to arrive between July 2015 and January 2017, according to the MTA.

The MTA is looking to install cameras on the R179s, but has not yet made a commitment to do so, officials said.

Assembly stalling on Forest Park cameras

From The Forum:

While a sexual predator responsible for six attacks in Forest Park remains at large, the application to install security cameras on the grounds is still being reviewed by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, with no firm date set for the completion of the process.

“There was an initial delay by the city Police Department returning the preliminary application to the Ways and Means Committee,” said Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven), who formally requested the extra security measure. “After final review, the application will be sent to the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York for their own independent review of the NYPD’s application for the security cameras. Since we have no control over these processes, I cannot guarantee a date for the installation of the cameras; however, the process is moving swiftly and we will continue to follow up to ensure the cameras are installed as soon as possible.”

The bureaucratic procedure has done little to assuage the anxiety of park patrons and area residents. According to the NYPD, the suspect has struck half a dozen times during daylight hours over a two-year period inside the expansive, 507-acre flagship green space: On Aug. 26, 2013 he used a stun gun to subdue and rape a 69-year-old woman near Myrtle Avenue and Forest Park Road; on March 29, 2013, the suspect sexually assaulted a 23-year-old jogger; on Nov. 18, 2012 he assaulted a 40-year-old woman as she walked her dog; on Aug. 15, 2012, the man fondled a 34-year-old woman at Woodhaven Boulevard and Park Lane South; he struck and attempted to disrobe his youngest victim, a 13-year-old girl, on Sept. 7, 2011; and on March 25, 2011, in what cops believe was his initial attack, the man jumped a 54-year-old female jogger from behind on Park Lane South, the NYPD said.

Cameras coming to Forest Park

From the Times Ledger:

State Assemblyman Michael Miller (D-Woodhaven) and state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) allocated $250,000 for surveillance cameras after the NYPD said police had linked the rape of a 69-year-old woman in the park this September to five additional rapes or attempted rapes over the past 2 1/2 years.

The legislators hope the seven surveillance units, which come with two cameras apiece, deter sexual predators from targeting parkgoers.

Miller’s office said the equipment is slated to be installed near the corner of Park Lane South and Woodhaven Boulevard, the intersection of 80th Street and Myrtle Avenue, the junction of Forest Parkway and Park Lane South and the corner of Freedom Drive and Myrtle Avenue.

Cameras are also coming to the park’s visitor center on Woodhaven Boulevard, the Buddy Monument near Myrtle Avenue and Park Lane South and the Forest Park Bandshell, according to Miller’s staff.

Bill attempts crack down on biker free-for-alls

Form the NY Post:

New legislation targeting rogue motorcyclists in the wake of the vicious beatdown of a Manhattan man in front of his wife and baby daughter will be introduced in the state Senate on Monday.

Sen. Adriano Espaillat, whose district includes Washington Heights, where the violence took place, and Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa, will propose four bills giving cops and prosecutors new tools to go after reckless bikers.

The bill will apply in the city only, not the rest of the state.

“While the brutal assault caught on video captured the world’s attention, aggressive and reckless motorcyclist behavior in upper Manhattan has been a persistent quality-of-life hazard in our community for years,” Espaillat said.

Rule-breaking bikers have been a particular nuisance in his district because it includes parts of the West Side Highway, FDR Drive, and other major routes.

The first measure would stiffen penalties for a group attack by bikers.

The second would make it illegal for bikers to do stunts like wheelies in traffic.

“Anyone who thinks performing risky maneuvers in the middle of traffic is a good idea should have their license suspended so they understand their actions put lives in danger,” Espaillat said.

A third bill would require groups of 50 or more motorcyclists to get a permit approved by the NYPD.

And the last part of the legislation would shift the power from the state to the city to install cameras on roads. Currently, the state has the power to approve traffic cameras.

A bill was also introduced to increase penalties for those caught driving with suspended licenses.

Forest Park to get cameras

From the Queens Courier:

Criminals should say cheese before they commit a crime in Forest Park.

State Assemblymember Mike Miller, who represents the park, allocated $250,000 for more than a dozen cameras inside the park, and received permission from the NYPD on Monday to have the devices installed within the next few months, following a string of sexual assaults in the green space.

“I think it will be extremely helpful in being a deterrent to crime,” Miller said. “If somebody thinks of doing something there, and they see the camera, they will think twice before committing a crime.”

Miller said they haven’t decided the exact locations of where the cameras will be placed in the park, but he wants to put them in entrances and areas where many people gather, such as Victory Field.

There will be a total of seven $35,000 units with two cameras on each, for a total of 14 cameras. Miller hopes installing the devices will not only be a crime deterrent, but will also help the NYPD identify suspects.

1) Entrances and areas where many people gather are not where crimes are happening.
2) Without adequate lighting, the cameras might as well be turned off.

Do you recognize this vandal?

"On Saturday morning at 540am, numerous buildings were tagged in the area of 80th street and Grand Ave. We are trying to identify the person so the police can follow up. A report has already been made. Attached are pics. Maybe you could post and help us in the area."

Thanks for your help."

- anonymous

Peter Vallone's tires slashed

From Politicker:

Queens Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., chair of the council’s public safety committee, says he was the victim of a tire slashing last night.

The term-limited councilman, who is no stranger to threats, said he woke up this morning prepared to head to career day at PS70 when he saw that both of the tires on the left side of his car had been slashed.

“The tire guy said there was no doubt that a knife was put into the side of each one of them,” he told Politicker this afternoon.

Mr. Vallone, an unabashed supporter of the NYPD who is known for his hard-line stances against quality of life crimes, said he was stumped about the slasher’s potential motivations. Perhaps he has an “Alec Baldwin-like stalker,” he joked.

Nevertheless, whoever punctured Mr. Vallone’s tires may end up being caught. The councilman said the NYPD installed a surveillance camera outside his house after he received a death threat and various threats to “tag” his house with graffiti. (Mr. Vallone has been waging an “Ahab-like” anti-graffiti campaign in the City Council.)

Potential safety problem identified in Rockaway

"On B90 street and Rockaway Beach Blvd., new A.R.G.U.S. cameras from the NYPD were installed, but the view is obstructed by these shipping containers in the CVS parking lot. This has created the perfect location for someone to hide and commit crime. Mugging, rape, etc. There also are no street lights, which defeats the purpose of the camera." - anonymous