Cameras to go up at tragic Brooklyn housing project, among others

June 11, 2014 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

More security cameras are going up in housing projects city-wide.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Comptroller Scott Stringer on Wednesday joined public housing residents in East New York, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chair Shola Olatoye, and Councilmember Inez Barron to announce the start of a long-overdue security camera installation at Boulevard Houses in East New York, where two children were stabbed last week, one fatally, while riding an elevator, and five other developments around the city.

The mayor promised to complete the installation of cameras at 49 developments before the end of 2014. De Blasio said in a statement, “The safety and security of families living in public housing is a priority for my administration, and we will continue to work to find ways to give NYCHA residents the quality of life they deserve.” The city was able to expedite the review and approval of contracts for cameras at 49 locations in less than a week. “The more than 400,000 New Yorkers who call NYCHA home deserve to feel safe,” said Stringer.

In Brooklyn, the developments that will receive cameras by the end of the year are the Boulevard Houses, Borinquen Plaza, Cypress Hills Houses, the Farragut Houses, Hope Gardens, Hylan, Marlboro, Sheepshead/Nostrand, the Sumner Houses, the Taylor Wythe Houses and the Tilden Houses.

“I appreciate that the de Blasio administration has stepped up to show leadership for the future of our residents in public housing,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said in a statement. “For years, NYCHA has fallen short of its commitment to its tenants, leaving too many in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. The installation of security cameras at Boulevard Houses, just a week after the fatal stabbing of 6-year-old PJ Avitto, is far more than a symbolic act.”

“I am happy the work has begun on the installation of the cameras. We look forward to having a crime deterrent, with hopes that I, and all residents—especially the children—can sleep better at night,” Inez Rodriguez, President of the Boulevard Houses Resident Association, said in a statement.

The $500,000 camera installation at Boulevard had been funded by the New York City Council, as part of $27 million earmarked for security systems around the city. The work begun today will bring 17 cameras to nine Boulevard buildings. They will be installed in locations determined through a collaborative effort that includes residents, NYCHA property management, the NYPD and local elected officials.

In addition to Boulevard Houses, NYCHA is starting this week the installation work at Fort Independence (Bronx), Pelham Parkway (Bronx), Bailey Houses (Bronx), Latimer Gardens (Queens) and Baisley Park (Queens).