The Syracuse Common Council approved the proposal to install nine surveillance cameras on the Near West Side, using $125,000 in federal stimulus funds.
Members of the NYCLU, Spanish Action League and some residents had protested the cameras, asking the city to further study the impact surveillance could have on the community.
The Spanish Action League on Nov. 11 released a statement in opposition of the cameras, citing an invasion of privacy and “singling out” residents in the traditionally Hispanic Near West Side community.
Last week Mayor Stephanie Miner and Chief of Police Frank Fowler released findings from a door-to-door survey conducted by Syracuse police, which found that 96 percent of the 210 people surveyed supported the camera installation as a tool for the police.
