A Different Kind of Flock Frenzy
New York City may not have controversial Flock surveillance cameras watching its streets, but that has not stopped online sleuths from raising alarms over similar “Big Brother”-style license plate reader technology across the five boroughs.
The debate gained traction in the Big Apple after a recent New York Times report drew attention to DeFlock, a mapping tool that tracks automated license plate readers operated by Flock and other surveillance technology vendors nationwide.
Reddit users quickly began combing through the app’s map and found that New York City is covered with numerous license plate readers. While the devices were not linked to Flock, they are used by multiple government agencies throughout the city.
“There are no Flock cameras in New York City,” one user pointed out.
Instead, the app appeared to spotlight an extensive network of automated license plate readers run by agencies including the city Department of Transportation, the MTA and, most notably, the NYPD.
The NYPD’s surveillance footprint has been expanding for decades. In the years following the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the department gradually assembled a sweeping citywide monitoring system, beginning with private security cameras and later incorporating license plate reader technology.
That system eventually grew into the NYPD’s Domain Awareness System, which the department has described as one of the world’s largest networks of cameras, license plate readers and radiological sensors. The expanded platform was deployed across every police precinct in 2013.
But the use of license plate readers drew concerns from New York Civil Liberties Union advocates, who argued more than a decade ago that the cameras come with significant privacy risks.
“With data over a longer period, with more license plate readers, and more sophisticated analytical tools, automatic license plate readers can tell an intimate story about an innocent New Yorker,” a report from the group stated.
Those decade-old concerns have only expanded in New York and nationwide with the proliferation of Flock.
“Every day, the NYPD funnels license plate reader data into the Domain Awareness System, making New Yorkers’ locations — like where you work, your doctor’s office, or house of worship — trackable and searchable for a mind-boggling five years,” said Daniel Schwarz, senior privacy and technology strategist at the NYCLU.
“Let’s be clear: no one is safer or better off when the government or anyone else logs and retains your every move.”
While the city does not contract with Flock, various Long Island communities do — such as the Village of Hempstead, where roughly 75 cameras scan its 3.7-square-mile area, according to News12.
Concerns in the Big Apple blew up in a big way when the crowdsourced DeFlock app showed the ritzy Upper West Side didn’t have a single license plate reader — a finding that captured the suspicious minds on the “conspiracy” subreddit.
“It’s all of the rich and powerful that live there,” a user posted. “Rules for thee, not for me.”
The actual answer — as first reported by the West Side Rag — is much less nefarious.
The volunteer-sourced map is simply incomplete, according to the report — which noted a law firm’s list of license plate readers showed several on the Upper West Side.
Many Reddit users were stunned to find the Big Apple is dotted with license plate readers, except seemingly for the ritzy Upper West Side, according to the app.
NYPD rep Brad Weeks insisted to The Post that DeFlock’s mapping is “totally inaccurate.
“From my understanding, there are [Automated License Plate Readers] installed on the Upper West Side,” he said — though he was unable to provide any information on how many or where exactly they are possibly located.
He later said he confirmed there are automated license plate readers on the Upper West Side, but again, declined to say where or how many.
DeFlock did not respond to The Post’s multiple requests for a response to the NYPD’s claims. Their website states their data is compiled by volunteers using open-source information.
Reps for the DOT and mayor’s office did not respond to Post questions about the cameras, either.
