Public Officials Call for More Security in Public Housing
Laurie Cumbo
Officials are calling for added security and an end to gun violence at the city’s public housing complexes after a woman was gunned down recently at the Walt Whitman House.
New York City Council Member Laurie Cumbo and State Assemblyman Walter Mosley want more security cameras to be installed in the Whitman Houses, as twelve out of fifteen buildings in the complex remain without cameras. The victim of the shooting, 26-year-old Coral O'Brien, was shot in the camera-free portion of the housing project. Cumbo said the cameras would not only prevent similar incidents from happening, but also help the police.
"The cameras will help identify the locations of these incidents and hopefully the identities of the perpetrators as well," Cumbo said.
Cumbo and Mosley allocated almost $500,000 to fund the installation of the cameras. The New York City Housing Authority is planning to install ten cameras throughout the complex by the end of the year. Cumbo said the community can't afford to wait that long.
"We need them today. We needed them yesterday. We needed them weeks ago." she said. "The safety of this community has been compromised.
For the time being, NYCHA has installed ten temporary light towers around the Whitman Houses.
