PDF Version

Learn More about the POST Act

May 11, 2020

NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson
City Hall Office
New York, NY 10007
via U.S. Mail and Email

Re: Passage of POST Act, Int. No. 0487-2018.

Dear Speaker Johnson,

We, the undersigned civil rights and community-based organizations, write to urge you to schedule a vote for the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (“POST”) Act – Int. No. 0487-2018 at the next New York City Council Stated Meeting. 

This legislation, which was needed prior to the COVID-19 crisis, has become only more vital during this pandemic. The legislation would give New Yorkers long-overdue civilian oversight of NYPD surveillance, while remaining one of the most modest oversight reform bills in the country.[1] After more than three years of waiting, the time for reform has come, and we urge you to join the vast majority of your colleagues, the Public Advocate, and the New York Times in supporting this bill.[2] 

As New York expands our use of contact tracing to curb COVID-19, public trust has never been more important. If New Yorkers are fearful of how contact tracing data will be misused by police, many will refuse to cooperate with testing, tracking, or treatment. This concern is particularly acute for New York City’s overpoliced communities of color and immigrant communities who fear that contact tracing data may be shared with law enforcement or even ICE. This concern is hardly abstract, as the NYPD has already turned to drones, CCTV, and possibly even cellphone data to track social distance compliance.[3] 

We’ve been heartened to see the City Council overcome unprecedented logistical challenges to resume work. While we know there are many emergency public health bills that need to be addressed, we were also heartened to see the Council take on measures ranging from diaper changing accommodations in parks to lead service lines. If the Council is able to take on those non-time-sensitive matters, we certainly expect it will take the long overdue step of passing the POST Act. 

As Speaker, you’ve consistently been a champion for communities in need. We urge you to do so once again and join this growing national movement. With your support, we know the POST Act will pass at the City Council’s next stated meeting. We look forward to your reply and assistance. 

Cc: Chair Donovan Richards, 
Council Member Vanessa Gibson 

Sincerely,

1. Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
2. Acccess Now 
3. African Communities Together 
4. AI Now Institute 
5. Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund 
6. Brennan Center for Justice 
7. Brooklyn Community Bail Fund 
8. The Calyx Institute 
9. Center for Human Rights and Privacy 
10. Council on American-Islamic Relations, New York 
11. Cryptoparty Ann Arbor 
12. Defending Rights & Dissent 
13. Electronic Frontier Foundation 
14. Empire State Indivisible 
15. Equal Justice Under Law 
16. Ethics in Technology 
17. Fight for the Future 
18. Free Press Action 
19. Hacking//Hustling 
20. Immigrant Defense Project 
21. JustLeadershipUSA 

22. Legal Aid Society of NYC 
23. Lucy Parsons Labs 
24. MediaJustice 
25. Mijente 
26. MinKwon Center for Community Action 
27. Movement Alliance Project 
28. Muslim Community Network 
29. National Action Network 
30. A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing) 
31. New York Civil Liberties Union 
32. NYC Privacy Board Advocates 
33. Oakland Privacy 
34. PDX Privacy 
35. Red Canary Song 
36. Restore The 4th 
37. Richmond Community Bail Fund 
38. Secure Justice 
39. Students Against Data Abuse 
40. TechActivist.Org 
41. Tenth Amendment Center 
42. Urban Justice Center - Safety Net Project 

[1] ACLU, Community Control Over Police Surveillance, https://www.aclu.org/issues/privacytechnology/surveillance-technologies/community-control-over-police-surveillance. 

[2] See Editorial Board, San Francisco Banned Facial Recognition. New York Isn’t Even Close. N.Y. Times, May 18, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/18/opinion/nypd-post-act-surveillance.html. 

[3] Videos: The NYPD Is Monitoring Social Distancing On The Ground & From The Skies, Gothamist, Mar. 31, 2020, https://gothamist.com/news/videos-nypd-monitoring-social-distancing-ground-skies