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Cops test surveillance system at tree lighting MATTHEW CHAYES Pan away from the manger. Nassau cops deployed a new surveillance system last night in Uniondale, videotaping the revelers gathered to see the annual lighting of RexCorp Plaza's Christmas tree. With nearly 20 cameras surrounding the ice rink and beyond, police eyeballed crowds and monitored video feeds from a command truck. Computer files of the video are being stored so police can assess the system, said Nassau Police Insp. Wesley Van Wallendael. The surveillance was part of a test arranged by AgileMesh, a Richardson, Texas, company trying to sell tens of thousands of dollars in cameras. Three of the company's cameras were among the 20. AgileMesh's wireless video system was used in October to let Long Beach police scrutinize partygoers at the Irish Heritage Festival.
Each one of the cameras, which AgileMesh lent the county for Saturday night's test, costs between $6,000 and $10,000, in addition to the $2,000 or so for the device to monitor and control the video feeds. The county will decide within a few months whether to buy them, Van Wallendael said. Joseph Stefan, AgileMesh's president and chief executive, said his cameras are used by about a hundred "end-users" around the country - ranging from police departments to NASA. The system can be deployed and dismantled quickly, and could be used by SWAT teams during a crisis or to watch people at events like last night's tree lighting.
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