What's happening
This bill requires all owners of private security cameras in New York City to register them in an NYPD online database for law enforcement use.
Why it matters
Enhanced police efficiency in investigations. By centralizing and updating the locations and contact information of private security cameras, the NYPD could significantly reduce the time needed to identify and request footage that may be crucial in criminal investigations, potentially increasing the rate at which crimes are solved.
Privacy protections and consent requirements. The bill explicitly states that law enforcement must obtain the camera owner's consent or a subpoena before accessing footage, which aims to balance investigative needs with individual privacy rights and legal due process.
Limited public access to registry data. Information in the camera registry—including locations and owner contact details—would not be available via Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, shielding camera owners from potential privacy risks, targeting, or misuse of their information.
Broad scope and compliance obligations. The registry covers not only cameras facing public sidewalks but also those capturing lobbies, courtyards, and vestibules of apartment buildings, meaning a wide range of property owners across NYC would be subject to new registration and reporting requirements.
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Who cares
NYPD
The department would have to create and maintain an online registry of private security cameras covering public spaces and apartment building lobbies, courtyards and vestibules.
Private security camera owners
Owners would have to register camera locations, contact information and brief descriptions of camera views within 30 days of new installations or 90 days after the law takes effect for existing cameras.
Apartment building owners and managers
Privately owned cameras covering building lobbies, courtyards and vestibules would fall within the registry’s scope.
Camera owners and transparency advocates
Police would need owner consent or a subpoena to obtain footage, while registry information would be restricted to law enforcement use and exempt from the Freedom of Information Law.
Headline styles
Register Private Security Cameras
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Print number 487a
- Amend and recommit to cities
- Referred to cities
- Committee discharged and committed to cities
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Register Security Cameras Citywide
In Assembly Committee · Cities · Sponsor Victor M. Pichardo
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
487--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sens. RIVERA, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development -- recommitted to the Committee on Cities in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to enactment of the "safe streets security camera registry act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "safe streets security camera registry act".
§ 2. Legislative intent. Currently, the police department of the city of New York collects information on the location of privately-owned security cameras manually, by means of periodic surveys conducted by patrol officers. Such surveys do not capture the locations of newly-installed privately-owned security cameras in a timely and complete manner due to their periodic nature and reliance on personal observations by officers. It is the intent of the legislature that the police department create an online security camera registry and database for all privately-owned and operated security cameras within the city of New York with fields of observation that look upon and capture video of public spaces, such as sidewalks, as well as lobbies, courtyards and vestibules of apartment buildings. Creating the security camera registry will strengthen the department's ability to pursue perpetrators of crimes by enhancing its ability to collect video evidence in a timely manner, thereby shortening the time needed to bring criminal investigations to a successful conclusion. The registry will only alert the department to the existence of privately-owned security cameras that observe persons
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05465-02-0
S. 487--A 2
in public places. Nothing in this legislation will impinge upon the civil liberties of the people of the city of New York.
§ 3. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 14-177.1 to read as follows:
§ 14-177.1 Security camera registry. a. The department shall create and maintain an online registry and database of all privately-owned and operated security cameras within the city of New York with fields of observation that look upon and capture video of public spaces, such as sidewalks, as well as lobbies, courtyards and vestibules of apartment buildings.
b. Any individual, company or entity which installs a new security camera after the effective date of this section shall, within thirty days after installation of such camera, register the location of the camera and the contact information for the owner of the camera and include a brief description of the view the camera captures with the registry and database created and maintained by the department. The owner of the camera shall register such information with the department through the department's online registry.
c. The owner of a security camera which has been installed prior to the effective date of this section shall have ninety days after the effective date of this section to register the location of the camera and the contact information for the owner of the camera with the department's registry and include a brief description of the view the camera captures as set forth in subdivision b of this section.
d. In the event that a crime occurs within the vicinity of a security camera registered with the department's database, the department shall obtain the consent of the camera owner to view any footage recorded or otherwise obtain a subpoena for production of such video.
e. The security camera registry and database shall be used solely for law enforcement purposes. Any data, records, photos, videos or information collected for such camera registry shall not be subject to the freedom of information law pursuant to subdivision two of section eighty-nine of the public officers law.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to enactment of the "safe streets security camera registry act"
Purpose
This bill creates a registry to provide the NYPD a database of all private security cameras looking upon public spaces in the city. If there is a crime in the vicinity of one or more of the cameras, the NYPD will be able to access the registry for the location and owner/operator of the camera. If the NYPD wishes to access the video produced by any of the cameras, the respective officers will have to follow the normal procedure of obtaining consent, a subpoena, or a warrant for the footage. The NYPD will not have immediate access to the video footage produced from the cameras, except as a result of the case-by-case arrangements that are sometimes made by individual camera owners.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 cites this act as the "safe streets security camera registry act".
Read the full memo (637 words)
Section 2. Legislative intent. Currently, the police department of the city of New York collects information on the location of privately-owned security cameras manually, by means of periodic surveys conducted by patrol officers. Such surveys do not capture the locations of newly-in- stalled privately-owned security cameras in a timely and complete manner due to their periodic nature and reliance on personal observations by officers. It is the intent of the legislature that the police department create an online security camera registry and database for all private- ly-owned and operated security cameras within the city of New York with fields of observation that look upon and capture video of public spaces, such as sidewalks, as well as lobbies, courtyards and vestibules of apartment buildings. Creating the security camera registry will strengthen the department's ability to pursue perpetrators of crimes by enhancing its ability to collect video evidence in a timely manner, thereby shortening the time needed to bring criminal investigations to a successful conclusion.
Section 3. Amends the administrative code by adding a new section 14-177:
Security Camera Registry.
A) The New York Police Department shall create and maintain an online registry and database of all privately-owned and operated security cameras within the city of New York.
B) New security camera installations will be registered with the depart- ment upon thirty days of installation.
C) Security cameras installed prior to the enactment of this law shall register with the department's registry ninety days after such installa- tion.
D) In the event that a crime occurs within the vicinity of a security camera registered in the department's database, law enforcement person- nel shall obtain the consent of the camera owner to view any footage recorded or produce a subpoena for attainment of such video.
E) The security camera registry and database will be used solely for law enforcement purposes, and cannot be foiled.
Section 4. This act shall take effect within 60 days. JUSTIFICATION: Currently, the NYPD collects information on the location of security cameras manually, by means of periodic surveys conducted by patrol offi- cers. These surveys often do not capture the locations of newly installed cameras in a timely manner, are likely to be incomplete because they rely on personal observations by officers throughout the city. The passage of this bill would expedite the criminal investigation process, as well as enhance NYPD internal investigations. The registry would serve only to notify law enforcement personnel of the existence of cameras that observe people in public places. This legislation is not designed to infringe on the personal liberties of New Yorkers.
Legislative history
2011-2012: S5574A / A8198A Castro
2013-2014: S945 / A6656 Dinowitz
2015-2016: S 778 / A7358 Pichardo
2017-2018: S1084 / No Same as
Fiscal implications
Minimal.
Effective date
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.