sludge1
07-26-2005, 01:24 PM
Huntington's Jon Cooper renews push for cameras
Suffolk legislators urged to stop delaying on proposal to install surveillance cameras to deter crime in town
BY CHRISTIAN MURRAY
STAFF WRITER
July 26, 2005
A group of Huntington's political and business leaders were upping the pressure on Suffolk County legislators yesterday to pass a bill that would bring surveillance cameras to the town.
Legis. Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor), who introduced a resolution in March calling on the county legislature to review the need for cameras, said there is no reason for the bill to be delayed further in light of recent terrorist attacks in London.
"They [the cameras] helped the police identify the bombers following the first attack," Cooper said, referring to the July 7 subway terrorists in London. "With the second attack the terrorists were identified . . . and their faces have been plastered across the United Kingdom."
Cooper said he believes cameras deter crime, help apprehend criminals and help support policing. The cameras would be placed in various locations in Huntington Station and Huntington Village and cannot be pointed at a residential dwelling.
"Gangs, drugs and rapists terrorize the community," Cooper said. And crime has dropped in many cities after the introduction of camera programs, he added. In Jersey City, N.J., for example, officials there said crime dropped 90 percent in the areas surrounding the cameras.
Cooper's bill calls for the creation of a task force that would conduct a six-month review of surveillance programs in other cities. Based on those findings, a camera trial might be implemented in Huntington.
The proposal has been sitting before the Republican-controlled Public Safety & Public Information committee since March, Cooper said.
Yesterday, at a news conference at the Huntington Station library, Cooper said he hopes the community will put pressure on the committee.
But Legis. Allan Binder (R-Huntington) said Cooper's bill won't get far.
"We have had discussions in the Republican caucus and there has been universal agreement that it would be a waste of time and effort," Binder said.
"It's an incredible invasion of privacy," Binder said, adding that "we are not talking about subways or national security issues."
However, Cooper said detractors shouldn't rush to judgment until they know the facts that would come from the task force.
Town Supervisor Frank Petrone, Michael Forbes, chief executive of the Nassau Suffolk Chamber of Commerce at Huntington, and Brad Rosen, treasurer of the Huntington Station Business Improvement District, who were at the news conference, said they support Cooper's efforts.
Rosen said that the Huntington Station business group has installed two of seven surveillance cameras proposed for the area through a joint effort. It has agreed to share tapes with police if a crime is recorded.
"The cameras all point to a public street -- much like at a mall or a bank or ATM," Rosen said.
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.
Suffolk legislators urged to stop delaying on proposal to install surveillance cameras to deter crime in town
BY CHRISTIAN MURRAY
STAFF WRITER
July 26, 2005
A group of Huntington's political and business leaders were upping the pressure on Suffolk County legislators yesterday to pass a bill that would bring surveillance cameras to the town.
Legis. Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor), who introduced a resolution in March calling on the county legislature to review the need for cameras, said there is no reason for the bill to be delayed further in light of recent terrorist attacks in London.
"They [the cameras] helped the police identify the bombers following the first attack," Cooper said, referring to the July 7 subway terrorists in London. "With the second attack the terrorists were identified . . . and their faces have been plastered across the United Kingdom."
Cooper said he believes cameras deter crime, help apprehend criminals and help support policing. The cameras would be placed in various locations in Huntington Station and Huntington Village and cannot be pointed at a residential dwelling.
"Gangs, drugs and rapists terrorize the community," Cooper said. And crime has dropped in many cities after the introduction of camera programs, he added. In Jersey City, N.J., for example, officials there said crime dropped 90 percent in the areas surrounding the cameras.
Cooper's bill calls for the creation of a task force that would conduct a six-month review of surveillance programs in other cities. Based on those findings, a camera trial might be implemented in Huntington.
The proposal has been sitting before the Republican-controlled Public Safety & Public Information committee since March, Cooper said.
Yesterday, at a news conference at the Huntington Station library, Cooper said he hopes the community will put pressure on the committee.
But Legis. Allan Binder (R-Huntington) said Cooper's bill won't get far.
"We have had discussions in the Republican caucus and there has been universal agreement that it would be a waste of time and effort," Binder said.
"It's an incredible invasion of privacy," Binder said, adding that "we are not talking about subways or national security issues."
However, Cooper said detractors shouldn't rush to judgment until they know the facts that would come from the task force.
Town Supervisor Frank Petrone, Michael Forbes, chief executive of the Nassau Suffolk Chamber of Commerce at Huntington, and Brad Rosen, treasurer of the Huntington Station Business Improvement District, who were at the news conference, said they support Cooper's efforts.
Rosen said that the Huntington Station business group has installed two of seven surveillance cameras proposed for the area through a joint effort. It has agreed to share tapes with police if a crime is recorded.
"The cameras all point to a public street -- much like at a mall or a bank or ATM," Rosen said.
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.