3633 Neilson blighted and now burned

[Rick Rowlands]

The Block Watch would be wasting their money.  Obviously you have no experience with surveillance cameras.   I do, and they are not what they are cracked up to be.  The resolution on most surveillance cameras are not fine enough to make a positive ID, and are good for only about 100 feet.  An infrared camera is only good for about 30 feet at night, and is worse at making a positive ID.  Down at Carrie Furnaces we watched as a white male stole a bunch of steel scrap from the site in broad daylight 100 feet directly in front of one of our cameras.  We could tell that it was a white male.  That was all we could make out.  Had he been 30 feet to the left or right of where the camera was pointing we would not have seen him at all.

This problem will soon come to an end after the "vigilante blight remover" has burned his last vacant structure in that neighborhood. 

[jay]

Since YFD can not predict where an arsonist will hit the city would have to have cameras on every street corner in the city

Mary said there were five arsons of vacant property in the last few weeks in the Powerstown Block Watch area.  It looks like a pattern to me.

I suggested that the block watch should try to acquire the cameras.

[Towntalk]

Some problems:

1. Since YFD can not predict where an arsonist will hit the city would have to have cameras on every street corner in the city.

2. Since most arson fires occur after dark, it's easy for a pyromaniac to slip into a structure and clear the scene undetected.

3. To be effective the cameras would have to be in a position to see all four sides of the structures both day and night. [Infrared Cameras]

4. The cameras would have to be monitored 24/7/365 from a central location so as to alert YPD.

[northside lurker]

Just FYI, according to someone I work with who also works with a demolition contractor, it costs the city MORE to demo and dispose of an arsoned property.  This is because the debris has to be sent to a special landfill.

[jay]

The cameras are meant to be used to catch the arsonist or other criminals.

[Rick Rowlands]

How about getting out of the city's way, let them lease the mineral rights and use the royalties to tear down the houses?  Nope, don't do that, lets put up cameras instead to watch the houses fall apart. 

Geeezzz.....

[Mary_Krupa]

The day after the fire, someone posted a "Thank You" sign.

[iwasthere]

its a shame ytown residents relish a fire to remove blight from their nieborhoods when the city leadership should be enforcing code violators.

[jay]

Neighborhoods need surveillance cameras.  Try adding these cameras to future grant application.

[Mary_Krupa]

3633 Neilson burned down last week.  Another blighted property, empty for at least 2 years now. Owned by an  LLC in COPPELL, TEXAS since 2007. Annual Taxes   $321.31,  Delinquent Taxes   $1,182.25.

This is the fifth arson of a vacant property in the last few weeks in the Powerstown Block Watch area which is off Powers Way.