In the wake of two armed robberies on Main Street this month, downtown business owners are again looking to install security cameras in the downtown business district.
The Riverhead Business Improvement District Management Association is considering paying for the installation of security cameras in downtown Riverhead, using income from is farmers’ market operation. The system would cost under $20,000, according to a quote recently obtained by the organization, BIDMA president Ray Pickersgill said.
After the summer’s farmer’s market is completed, the BIDMA will evaluate its budget and figure out a schedule to begin installation, Pickersgill said.
The system under consideration uses internet protocol cameras, which can stream video on the internet to anyone permitted to access them.
“You can watch what’s going on right on your phone,” said Marcello Baeza, owner of Alarm Time, which gave the BID the quote. “You can see it anywhere you have internet.”
Pickersgill said access would be limited to downtown business owners and the Riverhead Police Department. “It’s going to be very convenient for them,” he said. “If they get a report of a suspicious person, they can pull it up on their phone or computer and see what they’re up to.”
The cameras will also have “very advanced” zoom capabilities, Pickersgill added. “So if someone commits a crime, and we know where their car is from the cameras, we can actually zoom in on their license plates.”
“We’ve come a long way with the technology,” Baeza said. “The prices have come down over the years and the quality has gotten so much better. You get much more information out of the video than from the older systems.”
The cameras would record 24 hours, seven days a week, with recording storage on site for each camera with at least 30 days of storage.
Pickersgill, Baeza and several other downtown business owners have already picked out locations around Main Street “where we’ll get the most visibility,” Baeza said.
“It’s a great tool for law enforcement,” Supervisor Sean Walter said in an interview yesterday. “Cameras,” Walter noted, “are a great deterrent in and of themselves. If people know there are cameras around, they’re less likely to do dumb things. And for the criminals who will still go ahead and do it anyway – well, if you’re a numbskull, you’re a numbskull, but it will help us get them quicker.”
Riverhead Town officials have been discussing the idea of security cameras for years, but no one has been able to come up with the money to pay for them. In 2011, Pickersgill advocated installing wireless cameras downtown to help combat graffiti and other criminal activity. In 2013, the town parking district committee asked the town board to spend parking district funds to purchase and install cameras. Town officials and downtown business owners got a demonstration of how a system could work downtown in June of 2013.
The idea has had support from town officials, but they say the town, including its parking district — like the BID, a special taxing district — has been too strapped for cash to be able to pay for cameras.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.