Senate Bill S487

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  487--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. RIVERA, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when  printed  to  be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Housing,
   Construction and Community Development -- recommitted to the Committee
   on  Cities  in  accordance  with  Senate  Rule  6, sec. 8 -- committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the  city  of  New  York,  in
   relation  to  enactment  of the "safe streets security camera registry
   act"
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 the "safe streets security camera registry act".
   § 2. Legislative intent. Currently, the police department of the  city
 of  New  York  collects  information  on the location of privately-owned
 security cameras manually, by means of  periodic  surveys  conducted  by
 patrol  officers. Such surveys do not capture the locations of newly-in-
 stalled privately-owned security cameras in a timely and complete manner
 due to their periodic nature and reliance on  personal  observations  by
 officers. It is the intent of the legislature that the police department
 create  an online security camera registry and database for all private-
 ly-owned and operated security cameras within the city of New York  with
 fields of observation that look upon and capture video of public spaces,
 such  as  sidewalks,  as  well  as lobbies, courtyards and vestibules of
 apartment  buildings.  Creating  the  security  camera   registry   will
 strengthen  the department's ability to pursue perpetrators of crimes by
 enhancing its ability to collect video  evidence  in  a  timely  manner,
 thereby shortening the time needed to bring criminal investigations to a
 successful  conclusion.  The  registry will only alert the department to
 the existence of privately-owned security cameras that  observe  persons

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05465-02-0

 S. 487--A                           2
 
 in  public  places.  Nothing  in  this legislation will impinge upon the
 civil liberties of the people of the city of New York.
   §  3.  The  administrative  code of the city of New York is amended by
 adding a new section 14-177.1 to read as follows:
   § 14-177.1 SECURITY CAMERA REGISTRY. A. THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL  CREATE
 AND  MAINTAIN AN ONLINE REGISTRY AND DATABASE OF ALL PRIVATELY-OWNED AND
 OPERATED SECURITY CAMERAS WITHIN THE CITY OF NEW  YORK  WITH  FIELDS  OF
 OBSERVATION  THAT  LOOK UPON AND CAPTURE VIDEO OF PUBLIC SPACES, SUCH AS
 SIDEWALKS, AS WELL AS LOBBIES, COURTYARDS AND  VESTIBULES  OF  APARTMENT
 BUILDINGS.
   B.  ANY  INDIVIDUAL,  COMPANY  OR ENTITY WHICH INSTALLS A NEW SECURITY
 CAMERA AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS  SECTION  SHALL,  WITHIN  THIRTY
 DAYS  AFTER  INSTALLATION  OF  SUCH CAMERA, REGISTER THE LOCATION OF THE
 CAMERA AND THE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR  THE  OWNER  OF  THE  CAMERA  AND
 INCLUDE  A  BRIEF  DESCRIPTION  OF THE VIEW THE CAMERA CAPTURES WITH THE
 REGISTRY AND DATABASE CREATED AND  MAINTAINED  BY  THE  DEPARTMENT.  THE
 OWNER  OF THE CAMERA SHALL REGISTER SUCH INFORMATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT
 THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT'S ONLINE REGISTRY.
   C. THE OWNER OF A SECURITY CAMERA WHICH HAS BEEN  INSTALLED  PRIOR  TO
 THE  EFFECTIVE  DATE  OF  THIS  SECTION SHALL HAVE NINETY DAYS AFTER THE
 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION TO REGISTER THE LOCATION  OF  THE  CAMERA
 AND THE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE OWNER OF THE CAMERA WITH THE DEPART-
 MENT'S  REGISTRY  AND INCLUDE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEW THE CAMERA
 CAPTURES AS SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
   D.  IN THE EVENT THAT A CRIME OCCURS WITHIN THE VICINITY OF A SECURITY
 CAMERA REGISTERED WITH THE DEPARTMENT'S DATABASE, THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL
 OBTAIN  THE  CONSENT OF THE CAMERA OWNER TO VIEW ANY FOOTAGE RECORDED OR
 OTHERWISE OBTAIN A SUBPOENA FOR PRODUCTION OF SUCH VIDEO.
   E. THE SECURITY CAMERA REGISTRY AND DATABASE SHALL BE USED SOLELY  FOR
 LAW  ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES. ANY DATA, RECORDS, PHOTOS, VIDEOS OR INFORMA-
 TION COLLECTED FOR SUCH CAMERA REGISTRY SHALL  NOT  BE  SUBJECT  TO  THE
 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION EIGHT-
 Y-NINE OF THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW.
   §  4.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.