Downtown businessmen, town officials ponder ‘omnipresence’

Downtown Riverhead businessmen, Councilman John Dunleavy and deputy town attorney Dan McCormick piled into a shiny black van parked in the Riverfront lot Tuesday afternoon. They didn’t leave the parking lot, but they got an up-close view of far-away places on a series of computer monitors set up inside the van that were linked via the internet to distant surveillance cameras. They also got a demonstration of how the cameras — samples of which were mounted on the exterior of the van itself — could be operated and monitored remotely.

The demonstration was given by representatives of two Bay Shore firms, A+ Technology & Security and IPVideo Corp., who design and install surveillance systems for governments, school districts, utilities and business enterprises.

The meeting was set up by BID Management Association president Raymond Pickersgill and attended by BID members Ed Tuccio, John Mantzapoulos, Vic Prusinowski.

Surveillance systems are very sophisticated and highly customizable, Walter Law of A+ Technology explained to the group. A network of video cameras can wirelessly transmit images to a special antenna, which in turn sends the images to a computer server. In the alternative, the cameras can transmit the information to the server via cell service, he said. The server is connected to the internet, so registered users with qualified log-in credentials can type in the server’s IP address and view surveillance video images from any computer anywhere in the world. A system like that can link hundreds of cameras in a network, Law said.

Surveillance cameras help deter crime, the video and images they collect help convict criminals when crime does occur, and knowledge that a surveillance system is in place helps people feel safe, said James Ryder, a systems engineer with IPVideo Corp., which developed the software used in the system demonstrated this week.

“Giving visitors a sense of security is the most important thing,” Prusinowksi said.

“It inspires confidence,” agreed Tuccio.

“It’s called omnipresence,” Ryder told them.

The system’s potential to aid in the apprehension and prosecution of criminals appeals to BIDMA president Pickersgill.

“Look how they caught the Boston Marathon bombers,” he said, “with cameras.”

“It’s definitely a good investigation tool,” Dunleavy, a retired Riverhead cop, said.

The system’s computer server is equipped with RAID-1 mirrored hard drives, Ryder said, so one of the hard drives is always available for use by law enforcement.

If the town board decides to move ahead with the purchase and installation of a security camera system, it would first have to issue a request for proposals. At best, installation would probably be about three months away, even if the RFP were issued quickly, Law said.

The town is considering using parking district funds to pay for it, though the ultimate cost of the system will depend on its specifications, to be determined by the town, including number and types of cameras, type of antenna and server.

Pickersgill said the BIDMA got prices five years ago in the range of $70,000, but a better system can now likely be purchased for half that amount.

“The question has been lingering for five years now,” Tuccio said. “I’d like to see this done the sooner the better.”

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti