Still no cameras at NYCHA building where two have been murdered in less than four years
Despite two mysterious, unsolved murders of women over the age of 80 in less than four years at a NYCHA senior housing building, the authority still has not installed cameras in the building, a NYCHA official confirmed Thursday at a City Council hearing.
Jacolia James, 83, was beaten to death on April 30 in her apartment in Brownsville at the Woodson houses. In November 2015, 82-year-old Myrtle McKenny was found dead in her apartment in the same building. She was also murdered. Despite calls for cameras from residents at the building, none have been installed, a fact residents have said makes them fearful.
“How does an 83-year-old woman get killed in her apartment and no one knows who killed her – and before you answer that question – in the same building a couple years prior to that an 84-year-old [sic] woman was killed in her apartment – same exact building. So in order for us to understand what NYCHA is doing related to safety and security and layered-access doors and cameras and lighting, can you explain to me how this happened?” Councilmember Alicka Ampry-Samuel asked at a joint hearing of the Committee on Public Housing and the Committee on Public Safety.
