3,000 Anti-Terror and Anti-Traffic Cameras Planned for New York

New York and London have a few things in common. Both have famous cabs, both have great bagels, NYC has Queens, London has The Queen. But if Mayor Bloomberg gets his way, The Big Apple might just get a few thousand new security cameras. Using the catchall anti-terror excuse, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said to the New York Times that "This area is very critical to the economic lifeblood of this nation [and] we want to make it less vulnerable". The scheme will cost $25 million, $10 million from the city and (hopefully) $15 million from Washington.

Mayor Bloomberg gives away the real reason for the extra 3,000 planned CCTV cameras. Money. He wants to use the cameras to read license plates on cars and charge $6 to enter downtown and lower Manhattan. The scheme is similar to London's Congestion Charge, where motorists pay £8 ($16) a day to drive into the city center.

UPDATE: Reader Kim Strauss emailed with a link to a Newsday.com article, which points out that "The scheme calls for cars to pay $8 and trucks to pay $21". Thanks Kim.