Bloomberg: Fingerprint those entering NYC Housing Authority projects

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By Ken Paulsen/Staten Island Advance

August 16, 2013 12:28 PM

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says residents of New York City Housing Authority projects should be fingerprinted — for their own safety.

Bloomberg said the city needs to “find some ways to keep bringing crime down there,” and said some apartments are occupied by people whose names are not on the lease. His idea is to let fingerprint scanners screen out those who don’t belong.

"If you have a stranger walking in the halls of your apartment building, don’t you want somebody to stop and say, ‘Who are you? Why’re you here?’" he said during his weekly radio call-in show with John Gambling on WOR-710.

Bloomberg said Housing Authority projects account for a fifth of the city’s crime, although they only house 5 percent of NYC residents.

His proposal was condemned shortly after by some political leaders, including City Council speaker Christine Quinn, a Democratic contender for mayor: “It’s a completely ludicrous and outrageous notion that (Housing Authority) residents and their guests should have to be fingerprinted to gain access to their own homes and to visit family and friends,” she said, recommending tighter security systems instead.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, also seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor, called Bloomberg “out of touch” on the matter and said the idea amounts to presuming innocent people are guilty. “This won’t catch bad guys or reduce crime — it will drive neighbors and the police even further apart at the exact moment we need to bring them closer together to keep our streets safe,” he said.

Former comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson said the tactic amounts to treating minorities like criminals.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/08/bloomberg_fingerprint_those_en.html
 
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