November 27, 2006
Defender of Luxury Development Leaves Harlem
So long Sky Watch! Curbed provides the photo of the NYPD carting one of their prison yard watch towers away from 129th Street in Harlem. Last week in the NY Post, residents criticized the tower’s special placement outside The Lenox and The Lenox Grand, two new luxury condo developments, though the NYPD claims they were simply responding to a rise in murders.
Feeling left out? The NYPD plans to lease 3 more Sky Watches for a neighborhood near you.
Skywatch photo from Curbed.
December 19th, 2006 at 11:22 pm
At this evenings Community Board 11 meeting. Councilmember Melissa Mark Viverito informed all those gathered that she has written letters to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, saying that this abomination be taken away from our East Harlem streets.
Many of us in East Harlem have been campaigning to get more foot patrols on our street. Just today, Inez Dickens from district 9 also joined the fight after the many letters that I and other activists have been sending to our elected officials in light of the recent spike in shootings and robberies.
We believe that that one of the only ways to deter crime is to have police become part of the neighborhood, as it has been in the past. We want the 23rd, 25th, and PSA precincts to bring back foot patrols and do away with horrible contraptions like “Skywatch” which only leads to further alienation by the police.
Nadir Aslam
Public Member, Transportation and Public Safety Committee
Community Board 11.