Crime & Safety
Prospect Park Could Get More Security Cameras As Pols Worry Over Crime
City Council members want more cameras in parks, and the owner of a dog beaten in Prospect Park agrees: "I struggle to see the downside."
PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — More security cameras could sprout in Prospect Park and other city parks, if City Council members get their way.
Public safety measures — including cameras and more cops — for parks are among the priorities Council members outlined in their response this week to Mayor Eric Adams' proposed $102.7 billion budget for 2024.
Crimes against people in city parks have increased so far this year, with 231 compared to 179 at the same point last year, the response noted.
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"As a measure to improve security in New York City parks, the Council calls on the Administration to include additional capital funding for security cameras in City parks," the response states.
Putting more cameras in parks is fine by Jessica Chrustic, who experienced one of the highest profile recent crimes in city parks last year: an attack by a crazed, stick-wielding man who beat her and her dog Moose, who died days later of internal injuries.
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"I struggle to see the downside,” Chrustic told Patch.
“I really do think there are fewer downsides than potential upsides as far as public safety.”
Moose's attacker has yet to be arrested, despite a long-running — and much-criticized — NYPD investigation and community outrage.
Major felony crimes in Prospect Park have essentially remained flat from 2021 to 2022, according to NYPD data. But there were five felony assaults from July to September last year — the span of time that Moose and his owner were attacked.
Representatives for the Prospect Park Alliance didn't return a request for comment on the City Council's proposal, or the extent of cameras currently within the park.
Chrustic said she believes cameras could have helped speed up catching Moose's attacker. The NYPD, after all, has such a vast budget with great technological capabilities, she said.
Cameras can help hold police accountable for incidents where they don't use those resources, Chrustic said.
"As a whole, I think keeping the public safe is paramount in public spaces," she said.
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