No Love For Sky Watch
Valentine’s Day saw the return of Sky Watch, the NYPD’s friendly neighborhood guard tower, to Nostrand Ave and St. Marks Ave in Crown Heights. Stopping to take a commemorative photo, we were interrupted by four undercover cops stationed nearby, who wasted no time with niceties. “What are you, a terrorist? You look like you’re taking photographs of the officers in that secure area so you can follow them home to hurt them or kill them! Cops get death threats, you know!” Remember when last year East Harlem Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito said, “We need to build community relations, and these things send the wrong message. There should be interaction on the street, instead of towering over people.” Somehow, this doesn’t seem like the interaction she was talking about. Perhaps the NYPD could try approaching more people as humans, not as would-be terrorists and cop killers.
man, that’s scary. don’t know if you heard about this:
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2008/02/mta-cop-tries-to-stop-videographer-at.html
By threecee on February 15th, 2008 at 7:48 pmWith a level of intelligence like that displayed by the rank and file of the NYPD, it’s rather frightening that they actually believe that they’re protecting people from “terrorists”.
By Jerky on February 15th, 2008 at 10:54 pmi saw the skywatch at the US Open and I dont remember anyone giving me problems. And I did walk right by…whats the big deal if you take a pic?!
By RadioHead on February 16th, 2008 at 4:10 pmIt’s fun to imagine witty replies to such coercive tactics, such as “Is this a police state” “Are you a fascist?” “Aren’t you supposed to be protecting my rights?” but there’s no point as cops do not engage in any kind of repertoire. In fact, most cops do not think and I don’t mean that as an insult. They’re paid to do as they’re told. They are told to man a wasteful and expensive toy bought by the city, that’s what they do. The current policy by the commissioner is to intimidate and harass peaceful protestors and photographers - and that’s what they do.
If tomorrow they got orders telling them to stand in front of the skywatch and smile for pictures… then that’s what they would do.
So the next time you’re engaged by someone like that, just have a laugh because they’re just reading from a script and following orders.
By Jamie on February 16th, 2008 at 4:48 pmYou are all painfully misguided. This tower ought to stay right where it is until the ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD is rid of the vermin and cockroaches that have (and will continue to) drag this neighborhood down. If you’re not doing anything wrong then you have nothing to fear from being “watched”.
I caught a mugger on the street the other day (see the save brooklyn now! blog) and WISH that tower had been along the degenerate stretch of Franklin Ave. as I chased the scumbag down.
By saint marks soul on February 22nd, 2008 at 10:51 amSaint Marks Soul — Good for you, catching a mugger and all. Nobody is saying we should allow crime to continue happening in the streets. What we are saying is that the NYPD should be policing our neighborhoods with officers. They should be building relationships with residents. They shouldn’t be hiding behind one way mirrors in their towers and harassing law abiding people for completely legal activities under the guise of going after terrorists. They should be making efforts to win public trust not destroy it.
Bottom line — Harassing photographers does not make your neighborhood safer.
By steve on February 22nd, 2008 at 2:15 pmSorry the beginning of my comment sounds kind of snide. I didn’t mean it that way. Eyes on the street are good.
By steve on February 22nd, 2008 at 2:24 pmYeah, getting a run-down by the cops for taking a photo is becoming almost a monthly occurrence in this city anymore. I agree with Jamie though, they are just bots on the beat, you have to treat them accordingly and take it with a grain of salt. Of course if they take it too far, don’t back down from taking it to court. The NYCLU is currently building a case against the city in regard to the harassment of photographers. If you have a run-in, let them know about it.
By Sucka on February 25th, 2008 at 9:26 pm