NYPD installed Sky Watch partrol tower in a Harlem neighborhood.
It's basically a portable guard tower. I can see that this would deter some crime in that specific area. I don't think overall crime is reduced. I suppose you are happy about it if you live on the newly gentrified Harlem corner where they are implementing this. The tower has a camera for the unmanned hours, which is similar to the cameras that Chicago PD have been using for a while and with some arguable success. It has a certain creepy feel to me. I guess I'm the criminal sort, though, and this is wonderful for the Jones family in their new Harlem condo unit.
Take a look at this thing. I think the increase in property value from a safe neighborhood is more than offset by the sheer ugliness of the thing.
According to this article:
"The units, which costs from $40,000 to $100,000 apiece, are also being used by the U.S. Border Patrol and cops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Dallas and Fort
Worth. "
NYPD spokesman, Paul Browne, was quoted in that NY Post article as saying that the tower is a response to a recent spike in murders. It seems like an expensive game of whack-a-mole.
1 comment:
omg that reminds me of the towers in Berlin when the wall was still up. it's totally creepy and ugly and makes me wonder how many of these things will be in cities 10 years from now. i certainly wouldn't want a gaurd able to peek in the window of my chic harlem condo. bleh.
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