NEW YORK — Video surveillance cameras have been installed at 31 public housing developments, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) announced on Tuesday.
The $18 million security upgrades were funded by the city and state, according to a New York Daily News report.
The surveillance cameras come after two children were stabbed in a Brooklyn housing project in June 2014, leaving one dead.
“I believe the cameras will deter crimes. Now they’ll have to think before they act,” said Ronald Topping, who has lived in a Bronx public housing complex for decades. “Things are happening in daylight. I fear for my family.”
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The Daily News reports 52 murders occurred in public developments in 2015. There were 50 in 2014.
NYCHA CEO Shola Olatoye said the Adams Houses complex — the one Topping lives in — now has 75 video surveillance cameras, up from 23 previously.
“Cameras are a deterrent,” Olatoye said. “Our residents have been very vocal that they want to see them. But we know they are a part of a broader program. They don’t solve crimes. But it is an important component of a broader [safety] vision in NYCHA.”
