Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Queens Libraries Get Security Cameras to Ensure They Are 'Safe Havens'

By Katie Honan | October 13, 2016 9:37am
 Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland is shown the new security cameras installed at libraries around Queens.
Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland is shown the new security cameras installed at libraries around Queens.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Katie Honan

CORONA — Three local libraries are now equipped with security cameras inside and out to ensure these "safe havens" remain secure, officials said.

The Corona, Langston Hughes and East Elmhurst branches now have multiple cameras installed with $400,000 in funding from Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, who joined Queens Library President Dennis Walcott in Corona on Wednesday to celebrate the project.

By the end of the year, more than 1,100 cameras will be installed at 44 libraries in Queens, Walcott said. Much of the funding comes from Ferreras-Copeland's distribution, as the chairwoman of the City Council's finance committee. 

"She doesn't just talk about it, she puts the money up," he said.

The closed-circuit security system provides high-quality footage accessible by library security teams on their cellphones and tablets, and is available for 30 days, officials said.

The cameras, particularly exterior ones, can help local precincts in case of crimes, they said.

And inside the libraries — which are increasingly becoming more like living rooms and safe spaces in neighborhoods — the cameras provide an added sense of security. 

"We need to be able to make sure that when we provide these safe havens for young people, for our seniors, for someone seeking a job or for anyone, that they can feel safe," Ferreras-Copeland said. 

Pat Martin, who founded the Friends of Lefrak library group, praised the addition — which will be installed at her branch following an air conditioning construction project by the end of the year. 

"We ask for our libraries, we are asking for our children," she said. "Our elected officials hear us."