The East Greenbush Town Board held a two-hour public hearing on the town's Flock camera program last night.
Representatives from the East Greenbush Central School District, the East Greenbush Police Department, the Rensselaer County District Attorney's Office and Flock Safety all argued the cameras were useful investigative tools in presentations to the board.
The board also heard from more than 20 individuals, most of whom argued the town's Flock cameras were an invasion of privacy.
East Greenbush Town Supervisor Jack Conway voted against the Flock cameras when the town originally approved the license plate readers in 2022. Before the hearing, he noted that three of the town board's five current members weren't on the board for that vote.
"It's not just an important debate for surveillance in the town of East Greenbush — this is an important debate for the global community, but especially the United States of America," Conway said at the end of the hearing. "We live in Jeremy Bentham's panopticon. We do. Everybody's watching everything. That is not an argument for more, OK? Let's be clear about that."
Multiple media outlets reported Conway told them he would work to end the town's Flock contract.
East Greenbush currently has five Flock cameras for a population of roughly 17,000 people. The town has a year and a half left on its contract with Flock.
