I don’t know about you, but I have never been a big fan of Labor Day. Socialist implications aside, when I was a kid, school always started on the Tuesday after Labor Day. At some point during the weekend, I would see the Jerry Lewis Telethon on TV and think, “Oh crap. Summer is over.” To this day, I am still relieved that I don’t have to go back to middle school or high school.
As I got older, Labor pretty much just meant the last long weekend I could enjoy for several months. As I understand it, it also means mattress sales. For some people In Utah, Labor Day means cramming your spouse and kids into the Family Truckster and dragging a boat or camper through gridlocked canyon roads for one last weekend of mandated family summer fun. For some people, Labor Day means barbecues. As a man who will use his smoker in any weather other than rain or golf ball-sized hail, the end of summer does not mean the end of grilling season for me. But I suppose for some, it represents a final, symbolic cookout until the spring thaw.
Those celebrating Labor Day in New York City had better keep an eye on the grill and an ear on the stereo and the crowd. The NYPD will be responding to complaints with drone surveillance. According to a story in the Associated Press, cops will use drones to monitor large events, including private parties. Kaz Daughtry, the assistant NYPD Commissioner, told reporters, “If a caller states there’s a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up and go check on the party.”
This plan is not sitting well with everyone, particularly Daniel Schwarz, a privacy and technology strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union. He stated, “It’s a troubling announcement and it flies in the face of the POST Act. Deploying drones in this way is a sci-fi inspired scenario.”
The Post Act refers to a law that requires the police department to disclose any surveillance tactics it uses. Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, argued that the move opens the door for increased surveillance of New Yorkers and exploits a lack of protection to keep cameras from peeping not just into backyards but even bedrooms.
Mayor Eric Adams has stated that he wants the police to explore what he calls the endless potential of drones. He was apparently impressed with how Israel has implemented the technology during a recent visit.
I admit that as I get older, I have less tolerance for loud stereos. If I could pick a superpower, it would be the ability to destroy amps and subwoofers at will. I am getting up there, after all.
Of course, this is how every dystopian scenario starts. Just a little extra surveillance for the public good. An anonymous neighbor with “concerns.” Before you know it, you are rolling the dice when it comes to anything you say and do within view of a camera. And you are at the mercy of whoever is at the end of that camera. Or worse yet, an algorithm.
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So have a happy Labor Day. Enjoy your barbecue, and keep watching the skies.
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