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Bill Aims to Make ATMs Safer by Requiring Permits and Surveillance Cameras for Sidewalk ATMs

By DNAinfo Staff on May 26, 2010 4:41pm

By Olivia Scheck

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — Sidewalk ATMs might be convenient, but are they safe? City officials worried about the issue introduced a bill to regulate the industry on Tuesday.  

If the legislation passes, it will require owners of non-bank ATMs to procure special permits for the machines and install safety features such as surveillance cameras, safety mirrors and adequate lighting.

"Currently there's no regulation around the safety issues of these sidewalk ATMs," said Erik Joerss, the legislative director for the bill's sponsor, Councilwoman Diana Reyna.

There are existing safety standards for bank-run ATM's, but these do not currently apply to independently owned machines. A study by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's office, which inspired the bill, found that non-bank sidewalk ATMs accountd for four out of five ATMs in Manhattan.

Joerss said that the proposed bill was designed to address concerns about street crime, identity theft and "visual pollution" caused by the placement and look of the often vandalized sidewalk ATMs.

"We're not trying to get rid of them," Joerss said. "We just want to make sure they're safe, make sure they're appropriate for the space."

Emad Ghalad, 27, who owns a hardware store on West 52nd Street and Ninth Avenue, said he wasn't worried about the potential requirements. Although there is a sidewalk ATM outside his store, he said the machine was owned and operated by a separate company, which he believed would pick up the cost of the permit and surveillance camera.

"I'm not worried at all," Ghalad said. "We just rent the space to the company."

The cost of the permit was not specified in the bill and Joerss said that it would be determined by the Department of Transportation.

Asked whether the legislation would result in a significant decrease in ATM's throughout the city, Joerss said, "I would think there will be much fewer ATM is inappropriate places."