SCHUMER: TRAGIC MURDER & STABBING AT NYCHA’S BOULEVARD HOUSES UNDERSCORES URGENT NEED FOR ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS WITHIN DEVELOPMENT; CALLS FOR $250K IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR NYCHA TO EXPAND NETWORK OF SECURITY CAMERAS WITHIN BOULEVARD HOUSES DEVELOPMENT
In June, Two Young Children Were Tragically Stabbed in the Elevator at
NYCHA’s Boulevard Houses in Brooklyn; Federal Funding is Needed
to Address Safety & Security Needs of The Nearly 3,000 Residents at
Boulevard Houses
Schumer Calls on U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development to Approve
NYCHA’s Application for $250K in Federal Funding to Help Bolster
Security System at Brooklyn’s Boulevard Houses
Funds Would Supplement City Allocation to Install a Security Operations
Center & Expand Camera System—Currently, Half of Boulevard’s
18 Buildings Are Without Cameras
Last week, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer urged the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide $250,000 in funding to help expand a network of security cameras at the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Boulevard Houses. This funding, through HUD’s Emergency Safety and Security grants program would be a critical supplement to the work that NYC is already doing to improve safety and surveillance at this site. In June, Boulevard Houses was the site of the tragic murder and attempted murder of two young children. Half of the buildings in this 18-building development are currently without cameras. This funding would help improve NYCHA’s ability to monitor the property and address safety and security needs that threaten the residents at Boulevard Housing.
“Half of the eighteen buildings at the Boulevard Houses are without security cameras, and following the tragic stabbing of two young children at this site, it’s clear that additional security measures are needed to keep residents safe,” said Schumer. “I am urging HUD to provide federal funding that can supplement the City’s laudable efforts to expand the security camera system at Boulevard Houses. A better camera security system which will help keep residents safe and improve law enforcement’s ability to track down and arrest wrong-doers.”
Boulevard Housing, in Brooklyn, is made up of 18 buildings and is home to 1,423 units housing 2,852 people. Federal funding would supplement a $500,000 allocation from the City Council being used for the installation of a Security Operations Center (SOC) at the Boulevard Houses property management office, as well as a low voltage center necessary for those systems to operate. The federal funding would allow NYCHA to extend fiber optic cable and one camera each to the remaining nine buildings at Boulevard that would otherwise be left without cameras.
HUD’s Emergency Safety and Security Grant program awards funding to public housing authorities to address emergency, safety and security needs at their public housing properties. Funding can be used for measures to fight crime and drug activities.
Schumer urged HUD to approve NYCHA’s application for funding under the Emergency Safety and Security Grant Fund. Schumer said that the recent tragic murder and attempted murder underscored the need for additional protections at the Boulevard Houses.