Future of Policing: Crime-Fighting Robots?; "Naming Gotham: The Villains, Rogues, and Heroes Behind New York Place Names"

MetroFocus: The Podcast

Future of Policing: Crime-Fighting Robots?

In September, Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD unveiled a new subway-patrolling robot called K5, which patrols the Times Square subway station from 12AM to 6AM during a two-month trial. The new surveillance tool is one of a growing fleet of NYPD robots which have been criticized, due to their cost and the potential to infringe on people’s privacy. New York State Senator Jabari Brisport joins MetroFocus with his thoughts on these new police robotic technologies.

"Naming Gotham: The Villains, Rogues, and Heroes Behind New York Place Names"

Each day, millions of people drive on the Major Deegan, the Hutchinson Expressway, the Outerbridge Crossing, and the Holland Tunnel. Few travelers remember that, before these names were attached to New York’s many roads, bridges, tunnels, neighborhoods and institutions, they were actual people. In a new book, “Naming Gotham: The Villains, Rogues, and Heroes Behind New York Place Names,” law professor Rebecca Bratspies uses the naming of New York City’s infrastructure as a unique window into urban social structures and the city’s ever-changing inhabitants.