Bloomberg Offers Support On Vallone's 'Peeping Tom' Bill
BY JOHN TOSCANO

City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. got a promise of support from the Bloomberg mayoral administration last week for his first-ever legislation to punish Peeping Toms.

The promise came from Karen Agnifilio, general counsel to the Criminal Justice Coordinator, according to Vallone. Agnifilio said the administration supports the "private place" section of Vallone's legislation and plans to work with the council to change some provisions of that section of the bill.

Testifying on the bill before the Public Safety Committee, which Vallone chairs, Agnifilio stated: "We applaud the council for introducing local legislation to attempt to fill this gap in state law. This behavior is not only offensive, it can be frightening and violating.

Agnifilio said there are about 20 arrests a year for unlawful surveillance, but there's no way to tell how many possible instances go unreported.

Vallone's bill, the first in New York City against Peeping Toms, has been narrowly crafted to capture the worst perverts, those that stand under stairways or drill holes in apartment walls. It will not go after the "casual observer" on the street, Vallone added.

"There are people out there using their eyes to degrade others and invade their privacy," Vallone stated. "We are trying to craft a law that stops the worst of these perverts without capturing innocent conduct.

"Right now, if a person cuts a peephole in a dressing room and films a woman undressing, they can be charged with an E felony, but if they only use the naked eye, it's not even a crime."

The way Vallone's legislation is written, to be found guilty, violators must repeatedly position themselves in a public place to view parts of another individual's person that otherwise would not be visible to the public. If the peeping occurs in a private place, a violator must view these parts when the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as when they are undressing in the bedroom of their apartment.

Vallone (D- Astoria) decided to offer the bill after several complaints from women in his district about Peeping Toms who position themselves under a stairway leading to an elevated train platform and observe women walking up the steps.

Vallone said there is currently a similar proposal pending in Albany that would cover some of the private place provisions in his legislation. But, he said, the state legislature is "notoriously slow" to pass criminal bills, so he plans to proceed with his legislation. If passed, violators would be charged with a B misdemeanor.