New Lights, Safer City
There are more than 1,000 new, state-of-the-art, energy-efficient LED light fixtures at entrances, walkways, and parking areas at three NYCHA developments—St. Nicholas Houses in Harlem and Castle Hill Houses and Butler Houses in the Bronx—lighting up the lives, literally, of the 13,100 residents who call these developments home.
The City replaced all outdated exterior lighting at the developments in 2016, spending $2.4 million on 245 new lights at Butler Houses, $2.5 million on 270 new lights at St. Nicholas, and $8.2 million on 749 new lights at Castle Hill Houses.
“Enhancing safety is critical to strengthening public housing communities for this and the next generation,” NYCHA Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye said. “These new lighting systems are just the beginning of the comprehensive safety upgrades we’re making at these developments to improve residents’ quality of life, including security cameras and high-security doors. We’re proud to announce that all three of these developments rounded out 2016 with significant drops in crime––which, with NYPD partnership, we hope to see decrease even further in 2017.”
New lighting fixtures are a major part of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), a program to reduce violence and increase safety at 15 NYCHA developments. Started in July 2014 and run by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, MAP helps create safe and strong neighborhoods in partnership with residents. The results so far have been promising; for the second year in a row, violent crime at the 15 MAP developments is down.
“We are very pleased and grateful that the lights are on at Castle Hill Houses, because they will help deter crimes that are normally done in the dark and they have already added to the safety of the development,” said Castle Hill Resident Association President Geraldine Lamb.
New lighting installation is expected to be completed at 13 of the 15 MAP sites by the end of 2017. Temporary light towers will remain in place at MAP sites until all projects are completed. The next phase of security enhancements will be the installation of CCTV cameras and layered access security measures at these MAP sites. CCTV installation is currently underway at 11 MAP sites, with seven of those installations expected to be done by the end of the year.
In addition to improving public spaces, MAP is providing mentoring and jobs training for youth and young adults; conflict mediation programming and support groups; improved access to public benefits; and legal and social services for victims of intimate partner violence, elder abuse, and sex trafficking.