8 AWP Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 May 10–16, 2019
A sleek look debuted at Brooklyn Public Library’s May 3 fashion show.
Fashion at the library
SHELTER...
Continued from cover
Lander addressed concerns
about school overcrowding,
saying he would work with
city agencies and local school
leaders to ensure there was
space for the kids, but noted
that many shelter kids tend to
stick with whatever schools
they’re already attending.
Beyond that, the properties
were always planned for residential
use, and would have
likely attracted more students
to local schools had they
opened as market-rate rentals,
although nobody made
an issue of it until the shelters
were announced, according
to Lander.
“Both those buildings have
been in construction for quite a
while, and no one had brought
any concerns about the capacity
of the schools,” he said.
One Park Sloper scorned
his neighbors, describing them
as faux liberals for their harsh
criticism of the city’s shelter
plan.
“I must say to my neighbors
who claim to be progressive,
and post signs on
their windows supporting
Syrian refugees, if you’re
against homeless people coming
into our neighborhood,
your against homeless people,”
said Joel Berg.
Many locals did express
support for the shelter, including
one man who asked
what community members
could do to support shelter
residents.
Quinn suggested volunteering
during Win events
for kids, including the shelter
operator’s summer-camp
program, in addition to wrapping
free gifts for kids come
Christmas time.
The audience would eventually
boo her before she
could finish describing opportunities
to help the shelter
residents.
LET’S GO
FOR A
WALK
Brownsville tenants fi le legal complaint
Atlantic Plaza Towers occupants against usage of facial recognition
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
The state must reject a
landlord’s application to install
facial recognition technology
at two rent-stabilized
apartment towers in Brownsville,
a group of tenants demanded
on May 1.
More than 130 tenants
filed their legal opposition to
Queens-based landlord Robert
Nelson of Nelson Management
Group’s application
with the state’s Homes and
Community Renewal — the
authority that oversees rentregulated
properties — to install
the biometric scanners at
Atlantic Plaza Towers off Atlantic
Avenue, which would
require residents to let scanners
register their unique facial
features at the door of the
building prior to entry and
would allow the owner unfettered
access to their private
information, according
to one of the complainants’
attorneys.
“The ability to enter your
home should not be conditioned
on the surrender of your biometric
data, particularly when
the landlord’s collection, storage,
and use of such data is untested
and unregulated,” said
Samar Katnani of Brooklyn
Legal Services.
Nelson applied to install
the devices by Kansas-based
firm StoneLock in the summer
of 2018, which he says
will increase security at
his 22-story twin buildings
on Rockaway Avenue and
Thomas S. Boyland Street.
The technology scans a
unique heat map of each person’s
face which a company
video argues does not reveal
a person’s identity or gender
to the naked eye.
StoneLock provides its
technologies to residential
buildings and a variety of
other industries, including
banking, healthcare, transportation,
and data rooms,
according to spokeswoman
Anna Stallmann, who declined
to disclose any specific
customers.
The devices would replace
the current key fob system,
whereby the more than 700
Tenants of the Atlantic Plaza Towers filed legal opposition to their landlord’s application with the state to
install facial recognition technology at the buildings’s entrances.
residents have two fobs —
one for an outside and one
for an inside door — in addition
to a sometimes-manned
security guard desk behind
the inner door, according to
the opposition’s filings .
There are also several
surveillance cameras in
the building monitoring
the residents.
A spokesman for the landlord
told this paper that the
company wants to replace the
current security system because
it fears the fobs can be
copied and that people can
gain unauthorized access.
“We are concerned these
fobs can be copied and people
who do not have the right or
invitation to be in the building
can gain entry. The proposed
new upgraded system
should keep this problem
from occurring,” said Chris
Santarelli.
But facial recognition
has frequently misidentified
people who are not white
and male, which could cause
difficulties for the apartment
residents, who are predominantly
people of color
and women, according to
one academic.
“Research on facial recognition
systems has consistently
found bias against individuals
who do not present as
white males — which means
gender and racial minorities
in this demographically diverse
neighborhood who have
already complained about invasive
scrutiny are now at
risk of being locked out of
their own homes,” Rashida
Richardson of the Artificial
Intelligence Now institute at
New York University said in
a statement.
An owner seeking to modify
services in a rent-regulated
building must first
file an application with the
authority’s Office of Rent
Administration, which is
currently reviewing the request,
according to a spokeswoman.
“HCR’s Office of Rent
Administration today received
Brooklyn Legal Services’
objections on behalf
of the tenants to the owner’s
application for service modifications,
and this application
continues to remain under
review,” Charni Sochet
told this paper in a statement
via email.
The tenants began getting
notices in the mail last fall
that their landlord planned to
introduce facial recognition,
according to a Gothamist report
, and one longtime resident
that the management
group has not been forthcoming
with details about
the new system and what
happens to their biometric
information and is trying to
push out current tenants and
replace them with wealthier
newcomers.
“We know next to nothing
about this new system and
our landlord refuses to sufficiently
answer our questions
about how the system works,
what happens to our biometric
data, and how they plan
to address accuracy and bias
gaps,” said Icemae Downes.
“We don’t believe he’s doing
this to beef up security in the
building. We believe he’s doing
this to attract new tenants
who don’t look like us.”
The state authority does
not have the jurisdiction to
adequately protect the tenants
in this case, due to the
lack of regulation governing
this new technology, according
to Katnani, who added
that he believes bureaucrats
should nevertheless deny Nelson’s
application.
“We are in uncharted waters
with the use of facial recognition
technology in residential
spaces and HCR does
not have the jurisdiction or
authority to adequately protect
tenants,” the legal eagle
said. “We hope that HCR
does the right thing and rejects
this landlord’s application
which poses a serious
threat to tenants’ privacy and
well-being.”
Nelson Management Group
By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Paper
You can judge this book by
its cover girl!
Brooklyn’s biggest book
lender hosted a fashion show
at its Prospect Heights headquarters
on May 3, where budding
designers showed off hot
new looks in an event that locals
agreed was a real page
turner!
“It was pretty good,” said
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
resident Jasmin Green, who
brought daughter Kourtney
Henry, 6, to the event. “Definitely
saw some items that
stood out.”
Photo by Trey Pentecost
The runway show was the
culmination of a 16-week
crash course in design offered
by Brooklyn Public Library,
called BKLYN Fashion Academy,
where 20 would-be Calvin
Kleins ages 17 to 60 were
taught the ABCs of fashion,
while given access to studio
spaces and other library resources
to help market the
Guccis and Billabongs of tomorrow.
At the show, which was
hosted by top model Tamiko
White, professional models
strutted the runway at the
book lenders’ Central Branch
on Grand Army Plaza, sporting
looks developed by the BKLYN
Fashion Academy grads and inspired
by ethnic Herero women
of Namibia, who wear a modernized
version of Victorianstyle
dresses.
And like any good fashion
show, the designs on display
ranged from the practical
to the outlandish, with
some of the African-inspired
looks complimented by neon
capes, sheer-fabric trench coats,
and fur trims that might feel
a little much off the runway,
Green said.
“Some of the outfits weren’t
everyday wear,” she said. “But
it showed off their talent!”
/www.BrooklynPaper.com