Parade Ground Security Cameras Did Have A Problem, Which Has Been Fixed

About a month ago, we told you about security cameras at the Parade Ground that seemed to be out of service. Installed after the murder of Julio Locarno in 2011, the cameras, which were requested by community members, were designed to keep the neighborhood safer — but a camera filming from the roof of the restroom building didn’t seem to be protecting anyone.

We reached out to the 70th Precinct, representatives for Prospect Park, and members of local government who had been instrumental in getting the cameras installed — and initially, the only response we received was from Eric Landau, Vice President of Government and External Affairs and Special Assistant to the President of Prospect Park, who assured us the cameras belonged to the NYPD and that he had contacted the 70th as well.

After several weeks of no response from the 70th Precinct, we attended their monthly Community Council meeting, during which Inspector Eric Rodriguez told us that a specific group or department responsible for the upkeep of the cameras would be aware of any problems. He also suggested that the cameras may have just been repositioned. He was unable to let us know who to contact to verify that they were working.

After more neighbors asked those involved about it this past weekend, however, we have finally gotten to the root of the issue. Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs informed us that Ed Powell had been in contact with the precinct in his role as Community Liason, and had been told one camera needed repairs and would be back up and running within a week. She also said that she and Ed Powell and would “continue to monitor the situation to minimize safety risks to community residents and ensure that the issue is addressed in a timely manner.”

At which point the 70th Precinct confirmed:

As per the information received, a review of the cameras indicated that there was some need to make some adjustments. We have submitted a service request from the unit which handles the cameras, a response was received today [Monday] and someone should be there this week.

Finally, according to press release received this afternoon from Assemblymember Jacobs’ office, “all of the cameras within the Parade Grounds are now fully functional.”

Thank you to those community members for pushing to get the issue resolved, and to our officials who finally took care of the matter.

Photo via waywardcourier