ANIMAL » PIGNOLOGY

Special SkyWatch Surveilling Williamsburg Bridge

ANIMAL — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:57:31 +0000

The menacing, elevated surveillance platform known as SkyWatch is back! The Orwellian contraption was deployed by the NYPD last night at S 4th St. and Roebling St., near an entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge. It was strategically placed in that location to not only watch the people, but the vehicles headed to Manhattan also. Unlike the other SkyWatch systems, this one is specially fitted with a license plate scanner that can provide real time information on drivers, according to an officer on the scene. Apparently the NYPD is moving ahead with their potentially civil rights abusing Operation Sentinel way ahead of schedule.

SkyWatch In Times Square Has Fatal Flaw

ANIMAL — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:17:25 +0000

While many of the NYPD’s SkyWatch systems utilize self-contained generators for power, others, like this one in Times Square, draws its electricity from NYC streetlights making it particularly vulnerable to sabotage. One snip of the extension cord and this people peeping platform can be incapacitated rather easily. Click below for close-up photos of the highly susceptible surveillance mechanism and the unsuspecting watcher being watched.

Staring Down SkyWatch

ANIMAL — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:14:34 +0000

As the ominous mobile surveillance system known as SkyWatch continues to invade the city’s neighborhoods, we decided to take a closer look at both the privacy invading people watcher and the company responsible for it. ICx Technologies (Nasdaq GS:ICXT) is a weapons ~~manufacturer~~ enabler and SkyWatch is just one item in its stable of military products* rebranded for law enforcement purposes. Most police departments—the NYPD included—utlizie the ‘Sentinel‘ version. According to the brochure, it’s perfect for any occasion, “from a prisoner working party to disaster response,” but also recommended for “crowd control, long range surveillance, and “VIP/Dignitary protection.” The unit weighs 6600 lbs., comes with a 5.5 KW gas generator that can for about 24 hours, sports an impressive set up time of “less than 10 minutes,” and costs about $100K a pop.

Centurion, SkyWatch, Cerberus
For those law enforcement and military types that require something a little more rugged, here’s the SkyWatch ‘Frontier‘ model. It comes in a standard beige color but offers more add-ons and with it’s higher capacity generator, it’s better suited for longer deployments. Unlike its wussy Sentinel counterpart, this one comes with a ballistics option that not only includes run flat tires, but a thicker outer skin that can repel small arms and most importantly: gun ports! And you can never have enough guns. That’s why ICx also designed this semi-automated heavy gun tower they dub the Centurion (pictured above left). The “unique mobile weapons station” can be fired from a remote locations and has the options to be fitted with a whole slew of weapons: M2HB .50 cal machine gun, MK-19 40 mm grenade launcher, Javelin missile, XM307 (new .50 cal machine gun), or a M240 7.62 mm machine gun. It was also created to work in conjunction with SkyWatch.

*The Centurion ( a remote operated machine gun platform) Ceberus (mobile radar/sensor tower), and SkyWatch are all compatible and designed to work as an integrated system.
The company is headed by this scary guy—he makes like $450K a year and reported some record profits last quarter. However, the company is deep in the red, but with ICx already opening up new markets in the Middle East, not to mention SkyWatch being billed as an essential tool for both the “front lines or hometown events”—effectively putting a country’s citizenry and foreign enemies on the same footing—they should be moving towards the black in no time. It also helps that the CEO—like the Republicans at their convention—isn’t afraid to drum up support by invoking the attacks on the World Trade Center. “We believe that we’re doing something good for the country and we hope that we’re doing our share to make sure that 9/11 doesn’t happen again.”

NYCLU Challenges the NYPD’s ‘Operation Sentinel’

ANIMAL — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:28:44 +0000

Ever vigilant, the New York Civil Liberties Union is demanding that the NYPD disclose more information about “Operation Sentinel,” an intrusive system of surveillance that will document and store information on every vehicle coming in and out of the city: “In a lawsuit filed Monday in state Supreme Court, the NYCLU claimed the New York Police Department has moved forward with the plan expected to cost tens of millions of dollars without explaining how it will use and store images and data captured by the closed-circuit cameras, license-plate readers and other high-tech security devices.” |AP via Newsday|

SkyWatch Retreats Out of Williamsburg

ANIMAL — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:21:45 +0000

As promised by a beat cop last month, the people peeping SkyWatch tower has been removed from Graham Avenue. The 20 foot retractable perch originally designed for spotting illegal aliens has become an increasingly common fixture in the NYPD’s surveillance arsenal and was deployed in early August to supposedly help reduce a recent string of robberies. But now with the summer letting up, Williamsburg must be safe again.

Cops Look Down On Ridgewood SkyWatch

ANIMAL — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:54:03 +0000

The NYPD continues their paramilitary people watching experiment, this time introducing the mostly good people of Ridgewood, Queens to SkyWatch, a mobile surveillance platform. It’s located on Cypress Avevenue between Putnam and Myrtle, a stone’s throw from Bushwick. Like it’s sister unit in Williamsburg, it’s been deployed for a little over a month now and although NYPD brass might hail this as an effective tool for ~~intimidation~~ law enforcement, the actual police manning them aren’t so hot on the two-story tower. For one, it kind of prevents them from doing their jobs. “We’re not allowed to leave it, unless a cop is in trouble,” explained one of the officers guarding the base of the moveable tower, “but then what are we supposed to do then? Run to the scene?” Each SkyWatch requires a two man team: one to sit up in the tower, the other standing guarding below, effectively leaving two officers in fixed positions without any transportation besides a three wheeled scooter. “We could do a better job in a car any day,” added the other cop as he climbed in the cab and began his ascent. More photos of the elevated lookout below.

(Photos: ANIMAL)

Watching Your Every Step

ANIMAL — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 02:10:35 +0000

Leave it up to the free paper to break the real news: there’s lots of surveillance cameras in the city and even more to come. That’s almost as groundbreaking as reporting that cops drive around in yellow cabs. Even more irksome is this often repeated, constitutional shredding sentiment: “Unless you’re doing something wrong, you shouldn’t worry.” |amNY|

Our Sentiments Exactly About ‘Sentinel’

ANIMAL — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:08:54 +0000

Regarding the NYPD’s plan to turn 1984 into a reality: “This is more like being under communist reign, instead of being in a free country and being able to choose where you want to go, when you want to go, and not be monitored at all times,” said a NYC man interviewed by the BBC. “I don’t think it’s right.” |RawStory|

NYPD Upgrades ‘Ring Of Steel’ To ‘Operation Sentinel’

ANIMAL — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:56:38 +0000

Last October, the NYPD announced its “Ring of Steel” security plan for the new WTC site—should it ever be built—that included more than 100 high tech surveillance cameras with license plate readers that would be placed in and around the Financial District. One of the cameras was even installed on Duane St. and Church by defense contractor Northrop Grumman. But now the “Ring of Steel” rhetoric has been severed, the new buzzword is: “Operation Sentinel.” And rightfully so, with news that the notorious civil rights abusing police force has dramatically stepped up its plans for surveilling the mostly, non-terrorist populace of NYC and now wants to scan ever single vehicle coming in and out of Manhattan—expect some Sky Watch towers like these too. Not surprisingly the ACLU ain’t having it and decided to take action. But the NYPD is already arguing that these increased measures are necessary for securing the Freedom Tower and making everyone feel safe. Right! And these would help prevent two hijacked airliners from crashing into buildings how? |NYT|

Sky Watch Deployed In Williamsburg

ANIMAL — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:35:37 +0000

A retractable 20-foot-tall watchtower originally designed to help with border protection and then adapted for use during parades in NYC, is now increasingly making its way into various neighborhoods like Crown Heights, Harlem, and even into a relatively low crime area in DUMBO back in March. Now, a new Sky Watch has popped up on Graham Avenue and Moore Street in the Bushwickish section of Williamsburg to keep a watchful eye on criminals and law abiders alike. According to one of the flatfoots on the ground, there’s been a recent rash of robberies in the area and it will be a permanent fixture throughout the summer. More photos of the Orwellian surveillance platform parked on the Avenue of Puerto Rico below.