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