Man spotted with knife at bus station; gas odor; foot pursuit; fire in apartment building; 15 registered offenders in a two-block radius; is this your dog? Viewed through the lens of Citizen, a social media app where users submit and receive alerts about crimes, vehicle collisions, and other potentially alarming incidents, New York City is a dangerous place—and now, thanks to Mayor Eric Adams, more New Yorkers will be able to see it that way.
On Sunday, the mayor unveiled his administration's latest foray into surveillance technology when he announced a partnership between the app and the City government in the form of a new, City-run "NYC Public Safety" account on Citizen, an app notorious for fearmongering that scrapes information from police scanners, news headlines, and allows its users to upload grainy, disturbing cell phone camera footage and leave comments like "put their heads on display" and "Democrats love misery but someday they will be humbled to get understanding" on the aforementioned content.
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