WATERVLIET—The city now has 70 cameras watching over its streets, parks, City Hall and library as part of an effort to improve public safety, officials said Thursday.
Standing under the watchful gaze of three cameras in Veterans Park on Second Avenue, Mayor Charles Patricelli spoke about the additional safety the cameras provide residents in aiding police to combat crime.
“This has nothing to do with a Big Brother attitude, it’s about safety,” Patricelli said.
Assemblyman John T. McDonald III, D-Cohoes, obtained $250,000 in state funds to assist in adding to the number of cameras the city previously had. The city added $75,000 to pay for the $325,000 program to upgrade the camera network.
The cameras are connected to police headquarters at City Hall on 15th Street via wireless and fiber optic cable.
“This upgrade and increase in technology are another example of how my administration has prioritized providing the important and necessary tools that continue to make Watervliet one of the safest cities in New York to live, work and visit,” Patricelli said.
Police Chief Joseph Centanni said he wouldn’t disclose the exact camera locations but indicated they were keeping watch over the ways in and out of the city. Centanni said the city also has several license plate readers that are used to assist the city’s policing efforts.
“People want to feel safe in their community. If you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about,” said McDonald, who oversaw the installation of cameras in Cohoes while he was serving as mayor.
In 2012 while McDonald was still mayor, Cohoes put in surveillance cameras along Remsen Street, near the Cohoes Community Center, the Senior Citizens Center and Cohoes Music Hall.
The surveillance cameras have helped police investigations by providing visual information that was used by the…
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