He'll allocate discretionary funds for cameras at PS 69, PS 39 and PS 46, will split the cost of cameras at The Hungerford School with Councilwoman Rose, allocating $150,000 each.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Nearly every elementary school in the Mid-Island Council district will be outfitted with security cameras thanks to allocations in this year's budget, Councilman James Oddo announced Wednesday morning at PS 69, New Springville.
"I am a big believer in the efficacy of security cameras and I think they are a reasonable and rational method to secure schools," Oddo (R-Mid-Island) said.
Oddo will allocate discretionary funds in the upcoming budget to provide security cameras at PS 69 for $300,000, PS 39 in Arrochar for $250,000, and PS 46 in South Beach for $250,000, and he and Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore) will split the cost of cameras at The Hungerford School, allocating $150,000 each.
The allocations bring the amount Oddo has spent on cameras during his Council career to more than $8 million. Just one school in the district -- PS 48, in the process of being turned into PS 9, in Concord -- will be without cameras.
Some civil liberties groups and libertarians have griped about the increasing presence across the city -- but Oddo said he's funded cameras at both the Berry and the South Beach Houses, Staten Island Railway Stations, and 17 schools, all without a complaint from a constituent.
"The people who either live or work or use these locations embrace it as much as I do," Oddo said.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly recently reiterated his support for security cameras during a press conference about the plans of alleged Boston Marathon bombers to explode devices in Times Square. Cameras were key in identifying the suspects of the Boston bombing.
"I think it's a necessary policing tool in the year 2013 and beyond," Oddo said.
PS 69 Assistant Principal Salvatore Manuele thanked Oddo for supporting the school's vision for a PS 69 that will be safer for students and staff.
PTA President Tina Sacchetti said security has always been a priority at PS 69.
"I know the parents will be more comfortable knowing that cameras are now being installed," she said.
Oddo said the funding would be part of the Fiscal Year 2014 budget, and would become part of the September plan for school construction -- with officials likely visiting schools next fall to determine where to place the cameras.
The cameras allow a single security guard to see all around the school, Oddo said. With recent events, he said, they're even more important.
"We've seen incidents ranging from sort of disturbed folks
wandering on to a school campus to the most heinous of crimes," he said. "It
gives us a fighting chance to be aware of potential dangerous around us."
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