PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Quincy Blair, Attorney from Policing Project at NYU School of Law
3:31:26
ยท
131 sec
Quincy Blair, representing the Policing Project at NYU School of Law, testified in support of three bills aimed at enhancing police surveillance transparency and accountability in New York City. He emphasized the importance of these bills in addressing gaps in the current POST Act implementation and improving public oversight of police surveillance technologies.
- Supported Intro 168 for requiring detailed disclosures of surveillance technologies and quarterly updates
- Endorsed Intro 233 for mandating more comprehensive facial recognition technology use policies
- Advocated for Intro 480 to bring clarity to data sharing practices by requiring the NYPD to name entities with which it shares data
Quincy Blair
3:31:26
Good afternoon, chairs and members of the council.
3:31:28
My name is Quincy Blair, and I'm an attorney here on behalf of the policing project at NYU School of Law, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to supporting more effective and equitable policing.
3:31:37
Your opportunity to testify in support today.
3:31:40
First, we wanna offer our support for one sixty eight today as it enhances the intent.
3:31:48
The act's passage
Yusef Salaam
3:31:49
I'm sorry.
3:31:49
Is the is that mic on?
Quincy Blair
3:31:51
Is it on now?
Yusef Salaam
3:31:52
It is.
Quincy Blair
3:31:52
Okay.
3:31:54
Should I start from the beginning or continue?
3:31:56
Yes.
3:31:56
Okay.
3:31:57
Good afternoon, chairs and members of the council.
3:32:00
My name is Quincy Blair and I'm an attorney here on behalf of the policing project at NYU School of Law, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to supporting more effective and equitable policing.
3:32:10
Thank you for your opportunity to testify in support today.
3:32:13
First we offer support for 168 today as it enhances the intent of the original transparency provisions of the post act.
3:32:20
Since the act's passage, the NYPD has evaded its obligations by publishing incomplete impact and use policies.
3:32:27
168 addresses this by requiring an itemized list of all surveillance technologies including their capabilities, collected data, and responsible units going beyond the man the post acts original mandate.
3:32:37
It also requires quarterly updates on newly acquired or discontinued technologies providing sufficient information for both the public and offices like OIG to assess NYPD's compliance with the act.
3:32:49
We also offer support for two thirty three's mandate for substantive facial recognition or FRT use policies.
3:32:56
While the post act required an impact on use policy for facial recognition, the NYPD's version lacked meaningful details on use, data sharing, and retention undermining transparency.
3:33:06
Two thirty three improves this mandate by requiring more disclosure to those provisions.
3:33:11
And lastly, we offer support for four eighty by bringing much needed clarity to the post act.
3:33:15
While the post act required the NYPD to disclose third party data sharing, its policies were so vague that the public continues to remain unaware which entities access their data or whether it's being used responsibly.
3:33:26
Four eighty addresses this by requiring the NYPD to name the entities it shares data with, a critical step towards transparency and ensuring responsible use of sensitive data.
3:33:36
Thank you.