The "City that Never Sleeps" may soon be known as the "City Under Surveillance."

Staten Island residents are concerned Gotham is creeping closer toward 1984 with the NYPD's plan to install thousands of cameras in Lower Manhattan in the next three years. However, just weeks after the failed car bombings in Britain, there are those who feel the security cameras are an important tool in guarding against another terrorist attack on city soil. As part of the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative [LMSI], more than 100 cameras are expected to be installed and operating by the end of the year, with as many as 3,000 by 2010. "As far as civil liberties, that's a concern," said Frank Piccininni of Randall Manor. He is a former assistant district attorney on Staten Island.
Countered Karen Paolini of West Brighton: "I feel that it's a good thing. I worked right near Wall Street. Anything that helps, there's heavy security there for a reason." Cops, joined by private security agencies working with businesses, would ultimately oversee the footage, which would be fed into a downtown surveillance center monitored by the NYPD and private security agents. The cameras would be able to identify license plates and seek out abandoned packages or suspicious vehicles. Part of the plan would include roadblocks, operated from the surveillance center. The NYPD is also said to be considering face-recognition technology, as well as systems that would find chemical compounds used in bombs. The footage would stream in real time and be archived for future investigations.