Right outside the official Bushwick demarcation zone in Williamsburg, the NYPD has deployed one of their increasingly familiar Sky Watch towers. The invasive surveillance apparatus was deployed about a week ago on Moore St. between Humboldt and Bushwick Avenue in front of the projects, and no one seems to mind. In fact, everyone I spoke to, young and old alike, were more suspicious of my questions than the multi-camera mounted, people-watching tower.
Photo by Bucky Turco/ANIMALnewyork
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.
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.
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