Village on Long Island considers residential surveillance camera rule

FLOWER HILL, Long Island (WABC) -- A village in Nassau County on Long Island is considering passing an ordinance regulating the use of surveillance cameras.

It stems from a neighbor in Flower Hill who complained that the resident in their backyard installed two surveillance cameras high up on a tree aiming toward their backyard.

The homeowner didn't want to appear on camera but told Eyewitness News reporter Kristin Thorne that her backyard neighbor is unhappy that she's moving her power lines closer to his property. The man sued PSEG over the power lines and lost the case in August. The neighbor said four days later he put up the surveillance cameras.

Nearby neighbors say they're concerned about the cameras because they have young children.

The proposed Village of Flower Hill ordinance states: "The purpose of this local law is to preclude the installation and use of an imaging device with no legitimate purpose other than viewing or recording another person in an area of that person's property where the person would not otherwise be visible without the use of such imaging device."

The village's attorney, Jeff Blinkoff, said: "The Village is examining current state law and how other municipalities have handled this complex safety and security issue."