Atlantic Plaza Towers: biometric surveillance in New York City affordable housing
For over a year, a tenant association group at Atlantic Plaza Towers, a rent-stabilized building in Brownsville, Brooklyn fought against their landlord’s proposal to install facial recognition technology as a form of entry. The tenant population is over 90 percent people of color, a group that is adversely affected by facial recognition technology.
The tenants achieved a small victory on November 19, 2019, at a town hall meeting when their landlord, Robert Nelson, announced the withdrawal of his application for facial recognition with New York State. Tenants like Tasilym Francis, 33, only see this as a small achievement in comparison to the long-existing surveillance and policing by management. Among other tenants, Francis is fighting for state legislation to ban facial recognition technology as a form of entry in all residential premises.
A 360-degree surveillance camera installed by management to monitor tenants. The only place in which tenants are not surveyed is inside the stairwells and inside of their own apartments. Tenants often receive letters from management containing pictures of themselves from the CCTV footage. Management demands to know what they are carrying in their bags or boxes. Photo © Aryana Noroozi
Portrait of Tasilym Francis. Francis is the third generation of her family to call Atlantic Plaza Towers home for over thirty years. Her daughter is the fourth. Photo © Aryana Noroozi
Nelson announced that he would be revoking his application for facial recognition with New York State Homes and Community Renewal. A tenant questions Nelson regarding why he felt the additional surveillance was necessary on top of the current system. Photo ©Aryana Noroozi 2019
