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Cameras capture
our every move DOUG AUER / STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE | March 26 2006 The calendar says 2006, but it feels more like George Orwell's "1984." The seminal novel -- first published in 1949 -- described a futuristic world where an ever-present, all-seeing government kept its citizens under complete surveillance at all times. "Big Brother is watching you" was the intimidating phrase used to keep people in line. Well, the future is here for Staten Islanders and other New Yorkers, who are being watched and their day-to-day routines being recorded. If your automobile comes OnStar-equipped, the company can pinpoint where you're located -- broken down on the side of Clove Road in Sunnyside, dropping off mail at the Manor Road Post Office in Castleton Corners or parked outside KJ's Ale House in Great Kills. Walk along Page Avenue in Tottenville and anyone with a cell-phone camera can click a picture. Depending on its size and capabilities, that same phone could be used to digitally video-record your movements without your ever being aware. Cell-phone companies can triangulate your cell phone to find your geographic position. The technology was used recently to place bouncer Darryl Littlejohn near where the battered body of John Jay College student Imette St. Guillen was found in Brooklyn. Ever stand in the St. George Ferry Terminal or ride a Staten Island ferryboat? Well, smile, because you're on camera. Soon, closed-circuit TVs could be installed on the Staten Island Railway's 23 platforms. That means more pairs of eyes watching as you sip a coffee while waiting at the Old Town train station. Go shopping in the new Home Depot or Target stores in Richmond Valley and security systems are videotaping each time you pick up a buzzsaw or check out a pair of jeans. Security cameras mounted both inside and outside a variety of borough public schools -- elementary, intermediate and high school -- give safety agents the ability to see cars whiz by on surrounding streets, monitor all entrances to the schools and watch students shuffle through the halls. EYES IN THE SKY And, the Internet program Google Earth allows users to pull up a satellite image of a specific address. Someone could zoom in on your home in Port Richmond, say, and you'd never be the wiser. Sure, you could try to leave the Island's peering peepers behind by driving to New Jersey or Brooklyn. But E-ZPass will know when you return. It scans your car's tag as you come through the toll plazas at one of the borough's four bridges. Soon, Staten Islanders will be confronted with new signs reading: Area Under NYPD Video Surveillance. The signs will be placed below 505 surveillance cameras the Police Department is planning to install citywide in 253 crime-prone areas. Cops already keep a watchful eye over borough housing developments using the VIPER (Video Interactive Patrol Enhanced Response) system. It keeps track of who comes and goes. And, if you zip through the red lights at the intersections of Hylan Boulevard and Tysens Lane in Oakwood, or Richmond and Travis avenues in New Springville, among others, traffic cameras will snap a picture of your vehicle's license plate. Also, a domestic spying program approved by the Bush administration after the 9/11 attacks allows the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on international phone calls and e-mails of an undisclosed number of people within the United States without the necessary warrants. Now, more than ever, it seems the haunting song lyric by rock singer Sting : "Every move you make, every step you take, I'll be watching you" -- rings true. Doug Auer covers police and fire news for the Advance. He may be reached at auer@siadvance.com. --------------------------------------------------- Please help our fight against the New World Order by giving a donation. As bandwidth costs increase, the only way we can stay online and expand is with your support. Please consider giving a monthly or one-off donation for whatever you can afford. You can pay securely by either credit card or Paypal. Click here to donate. |
