24/7 Surveillance Lighting: Who Is Watching—and Why?

[bell dinging]

[slow dramatic music]

[Girl] There is a light shining directly

into my bedroom.

It's very bright.

If you went

to be staring at the sun for awhile that's

what it looks like. It's like

a big square.

And then it has like a pole attached to it.

And then on the pole

there's like four headlights

and they're round.

[Girl] It sounds like a lot of air conditioners together.

Yeah, sounds like that.

[Girl] I live in Edenwald housing projects in the Bronx.

When I first moved here

and I saw the lights,

I was like okay

so this is going to be one of those neighborhoods again.

The New York Police Department put them out.

And usually it's because

in that area there's been like robbing or killing

and things like that.

I thought it was gonna be a bad neighborhood.

But it's just calm,

everyone's friendly and stuff.

At first,

it was hard getting used to the light

because it was just so bright

and it was loud

and I wasn't used to that.

I might not be able to go to sleep

because of the light.

Sometimes I do wish I would have boughten

those black shades

that block out the light.

[Girl] I live here with my mom,

my sister and my little brother.

My mom is a single mom right now.

After a while,

I did become used to it.

It's like something

that I see every day.

It's almost like seeing my mom every day.

Like if you were to take her away,

I'd be like,

oh where she did she go.

So that's how it's about the light now.

[Girl] If we're laying down on the couch or something,

the light will come in.

It comes in through the window

and it takes over the whole room.

[Girl] I try my best not to go where the light is heading.

[Girl] I don't think the lights are gonna go away

because these are projects.

And usually people think bad things.

when they think about projects.

[Girl] I feel like now the light's comforting.

Now my body has adjusted to the light.

[slow dramatic music]