Opinion: New Surveillance System Stokes Fear in Scarsdale

(This is the opinion of Scarsdale10583 Publisher Joanne Wallenstein)
Sometimes the sight of a police car makes you feel secure – but in today’s charged environment, the presence of police is eliciting the opposite reaction: fear.

The President has ordered ICE agents to round up and deport immigrants and residents, foregoing the right to due process guaranteed in the constitution. In the past few months the news has reported planeloads of people being deported to the jungles of Panama and a notorious prison in El Salvador and there is more news of similar arrangements in the works with Libya and Rwanda to house those that authorities deem to be “undesirable.” Every day brings another harrowing story of imprisonment and deportations, with some being captured from police stations and courthouses. I don’t need to tell you that it’s terrifying.

In this disturbing environment I took solace in the fact that I lived in a well-run, democratic and free town, where my rights would be respected and safeguarded. I told myself, “It can’t happen here.” I thought our police force, our non-partisan government and our school administrators would do everything in their power to keep the unlawful practices of the federal government away from our special Village in a Park.

However, a month ago, at what appeared to be a routine meeting of the Scarsdale Village Board, I realized I was living in a fantasy world. Sitting in the audience with one or two others, I heard the Board approve a spending resolution I could not find on the agenda – and only grew curious when one of the trustees vociferously objected to it, due to “privacy concerns.” Privacy? What had just been passed?

At the conclusion of the meeting I pulled aside the Village Manager and she said she would send me a copy of the resolution the next day. When I received it I found that it committed the Village to spend $300,000 a year for seven years, or $1.8mm for a contract with a national security firm to supply cameras, license plate readers and a drone to increase surveillance of Scarsdale.

Few details were offered and it wasn’t until the Mayor signed the contract on April 29, 2025 that the full breadth of the plan was revealed.

And sadly, what I read made me feel anything but safe.

Without any public discussion, or prior notice, the Village signed a seven year contract with a company that will install equipment, train police and then facilitate the sharing of data about the comings and goings in Scarsdale. The cameras and drone can collect a wealth of information beyond the vehicle license plate number. Capabilities include tracking the car color along with any identifying bumps, scratches, decals and roof racks. It can “detect suspect vehicles that frequently travel together,” and link to the personal data of individuals inside the locations where the cars are sighted.

In a recent lawsuit filed against the vendor, Flock Safety, in Norfolk, Virginia, the Institute for Justice argues that “Norfolk has created a dragnet that allows the government to monitor everyone’s day-to-day movements without a warrant or probable cause.” The lawsuit also cited an example of abuse of the technology when a Kansas City police chief used Flock to track his ex-girlfriend. Scarsdale’s data will soon be a part of this web.

The thought of all this equipment monitoring the Village raises so many issues. Do we want our activities tracked? What about the housekeepers, gardeners, babysitters, painters and roofers who work in Scarsdale and do so much to keep all of us going? Though many have tried for years to gain citizenship, the process is expensive and long and sometimes unattainable. Would they be rounded up for arriving in a suspect vehicle?

And what of the many foreign-born residents who now call Scarsdale home? Some left their countries to escape authoritarian regimes. How would this new program make them feel?

A memo from the Mayor sought to calm these concerns. The Village claims that they will maintain control over our data, but the system works by comparing data collected from license plate readers, cameras and a drone in Scarsdale to a national database. That’s how suspects are flagged. Scarsdale’s data is supposed to be purged from the cloud every thirty days, but everyone knows it takes just a minute to steal and upload information to unauthorized servers. What if Flock Safety is sold? Will the new owners respect our agreement? Plus, if the federal government wants to subpoena the data, Scarsdale will need to take legal action to prevent data sharing.

The Mayor pointed out that Scarsdale has been using LPR’s and cameras for years, so I wondered, why not just buy a few more rather than sign up with a national firm? And to the claim that surrounding communities are using these devices, are they using drones as well?

Will using this equipment require an increase in staff? The drone contract appears to require the Village to hire drone pilot(s) who are licensed by the FAA. A quick google search says that FAA licensed drone pilots are paid $143,000 a year on average, and we assume the Village would require at least two to man the drone day and night. How much will this increase the budget of the Police Department? We questioned the Village Manager and the Mayor for details on staffing for this new program, but we did not receive a response.

The Mayor originally announced that the Village had applied for a federal grant to fund the program, and if the funding does not come through, we would not move forward. However, this year’s Village budget includes $200,000 for safety technology enhancements and now he says that perhaps these funds will be used for new technology.

At a work session on Village priorities on May 6, the item was discussed after a long list of other Village initiatives. The Village Manager introduced it saying, “The Village is working with Flock Safety to protect the community. It’s a priority of the manager’s office. We heard about evolving technology that criminals are using and we want to be able to keep up.”

A discussion ensued, with Trustee Jeremy Gans saying, “If this moves forward, pending the receipt of this grant. I think there needs to be a lot of work done. I voted against this at the time. My fears have escalated, not subsided. I was doing a lot of research at the time. That’s why I voted “no.” The notion that this will make our community feel safer depends who you are. Given the times that we’re in, if you’re here legally, but look a certain way, law enforcement makes you feel less safe. More surveillance in 2025 in America does not make me feel more safe -- and I know that there are plenty of residents who feel that way. We need to be absolutely sure, given threats from the national government that are not complying with things that they want, we are able to protect our data. It has to be first and foremost.”

He later said, “Flock is a venture-backed company building a nationwide surveillance system. And they say we can control our data? These statements are at odds.”

When the Mayor and several trustees spoke up in defense of the program, Gans responded, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

During the public comments that followed the session, it was clear that others were alarmed as well. 242 people have signed a petition objecting to the implementation of the program without further analysis. I decided to speak up and ask some questions as well.

But there was no response to the comments from the Board members, who quickly closed the meeting to go into executive session.

Where does this stand now? Is the Village awaiting the grant funding or are they installing the equipment? Are they hiring drone pilots? I don’t have answers to my requests for information, but with each passing day I grow more concerned about why we don’t have the total picture and what our own elected officers are not revealing.

In my view, this initiative should be put on hold until the Village supplies all the details and the community has ample opportunity to weigh in. Before making this significant change in policy, a transparent board owes the residents a chance to be heard. And in these very unsettling times, I am asking our Village government to do what’s in their control to restore our peace of mind.