Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Newark Unveils New Surveillance Program
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 15, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 15, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Mayor Cory Booker unveiled new technology to help fight crime in Newark. The plan is called "Community Eye," and it will "marry audio gunshot-detection technology with a series of remote-control public surveillance cameras into a network," according to the Star-Ledger. Booker hopes to put 100 cameras and audio gunshot-detection machines to work, as the Newark Community Foundation has promised to raise $3.2 million for the effort. Booker said, "When all the cameras and gunshot detectors are up, we will have about 8 square miles of the city covered."
The detectors will be able to differentiate between gunshots and engines backfiring, as well as alert police immediately for faster response times. Newark police director Garry MacCarthy said, "I kind of feel like a kid on Christmas morning."
Community Eye has been in the works for months, but took on a greater meaning in the wake of the execution-style shooting of four young Newark residents which left three dead. The Newark police are continuing their manhunt for more suspects, as three of six suspects are currently in custody. There is much attention about how the suspects may have been involved in the gang MS-13, which has roots in Central America. While police and prosecutors are trying to downplay the gang connection, two of the suspects had MySpace pages mentioning the gang. Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Thomas McTigue explained most Newark gang violence is related to the Bloods and the Crips.
The NY Times has an article that details the lives of the suspects, a "mixed band of men and boys" whose violent behavior scared residents of an apartment complex in a middle-class Newark neighborhood. It's also believed that one of the principal suspects, Jose Lachira Larranza, shot at least one of the victims, while another 18-year-old (who investigators are still looking for) may have been one of the other shooters.
NJ Governor Jon Corzine visited long survivor Natasha Aerial in the hospital yesterday. He praising her courage and later visited the schoolyard where her brother, Terrance, and two friends, Iofemi Hightower and Dashon Harvey, were killed.
Photograph of Booker announcing the Community Eye surveillance program by Mike Derer/AP
Tagged
alert
america
Central America
christmas
community
cory booker
crime
crips
dashon harvey
friends
governor
Governor Jon Corzine
hospital
iofemi hightower
jon corzine
mayor
Mike Derer
myspace
Natasha Aerial
nj
nj governor
NJ Governor Jon Corzine
ny times
police
shooting
technology
the city
The NY
the ny times
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .