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Civil Liberties
Brooklyn Bureau: NYPD Towers May Defuse Cop, Community Friction
Some Brooklynites who live and work near the borough’s two police watchtowers say the observation posts are affecting more than the incidence of crime.
How Free? Liberties In Post-9/11 New York
Around the five boroughs, New Yorkers are divided over the freedom they have, what they are willing to give up and what they already may have lost.
On Camera: Surveillance In Transit, Schools
A 1998 New York Civil Liberties Union survey identified 2,397 surveillance cameras at street level in Manhattan. In 2005, another NYCLU survey of Lower Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Chinatown and central Harlem found 4,468 cameras in those four districts alone.
Amid the Surge: Security On Display
Police are strikingly visible in post 9-11 New York City—in long lines of police cars, in body armor with machine guns in hand. Does all that firepower deliver more safety, or just more fear?
Subway Searches Raise Questions Of Efficacy, Legality
There's no way of knowing if the subway bag searches are working; it's supposed to be a deterrent, and a deterrent's value is only evident when it fails.
Immigrants Felt Brunt of U.S. Reaction
The FBI generated a list of 7,600 people whose profiles shared similarities with the hijackers, and conducted some 3,200 interviews had taken place. Fewer than 20 people were arrested as a result of the interviews, none on terrorism charges.
For Justice System, 9/11 Aftershocks
Secret evidence, new anti-terrorism laws, and special restrictions on lawyers who handle terrorism cases are among the ways today's criminal justice system differs from pre-9/11 days.
Muslim Communities See Informers In Their Midst
Saying there's a serious threat that local Muslim youth will become radicalized, the NYPD dispatched informers to root out those who've turned against us—and perhaps to help foment the very plots that law enforcement then disrupts.
The War on Terrorism—at the Library
Section 215 of the Patriot Act amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to allow the FBI to seek a broader range of "tangible items" like "books, records, papers, documents, and other items."
Infiltration, Mass Arrests Mark Policing Of Protests
During the week of the 2004 Republican National Convention, the NYPD arrested more than 1,800 people for protesting—more than 1,100 of them on one day. As a whole, the arrests were the most seen at a U.S. protest in decades.
After WTC Attacks, More Surveillance at Work
A 2005 survey found that keystroke monitoring was used by 36 percent of companies queried. Fifty-five percent of companies perused employee e-mail messages and 76 percent tracked websites visited by employees.
From Jogging Tracks to Atlantic Yards, Everyone Loves the T-Word
The fear of terrorists permeates places and conversations where it was once barely present, if at all.
At the Airport: No-Fly Lists and Behavior Analysis
People carrying spear guns, cattle prods or meat cleavers (these items are actually singled out in the feds' literature as no-nos) probably deserve whatever scrutiny they get.
Has Government Transparency Suffered?
The Bloomberg administration has made much of city government more transparent. But the mayor and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly have kept their share of secrets too.
Wiretapping Shrouded In Secrecy
The federal judge had made a decision in an important wiretapping case. At least everybody thought so. But no one could be sure, because the ruling itself was secret.
Sometimes, Even Cops Don't Like Cops Taping Protests
In September 2004, the NYPD issued Interim Order 47, which created a system for police commanders to approve videotaping of protests, requiring merely that the taping have a "permissible operational objective."
About Handschu: 80s Case Still (Sort Of) Governs Surveillance
The NYPD moved in 2002 to loosen the rules on police spying, saying that they tied the department's hands in the fight against terrorism.
Civil Liberties
City Limits' 2008 investigation into the shift in residents' civic liberties and essential freedoms in New York City, following the 9/11 attacks.
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2011 NYC Council Human Rights Report Card
This annual report is the only report of its kind, and grades each member of the New York City Council on his or her record in promoting the human rights of New Yorkers. The analysis is based on votes and sponsorship of key legislation before the Council in the past twelve months.
