Peace of Mind advises New York Nightlife Association

NEW YORK--Here on the floor of ISC East in New York City's Jacob Javits Center, integrator Peace of Mind Technologies is both courting end users and pitching itself as an option for job outsourcing. The company has also become a trusted resource for the New York City Council, however, consulting with the governing body on proposed legislation that would require video cameras on the outside of restaurants and bars owning an entertainment license. A similar law has been proposed in Chicago. "They've been using us as a sounding board," said Jon Ecker, POM president. The connection comes via Peace of Mind's work with the New York Nightlife Association, the lobbying body for New York's restaurants and bars. The president of the NYNA owns 360 Hospitality, and Peace of Mind secured two of his clubs, a vertical the company specializes in, along with real estate applications. Currently serving the corridor from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Ecker expects to open new branch offices in San Francisco, Chicago and Miami by early 2007. With 20 employees, he said he installs about 85 percent of his systems with in-house staff, sub-contracting the rest. The City Council has developed a spec for minimum systems that bars and restaurants would have to install. Ecker and others will now be reviewing it and offering opinions over the coming weeks. The Council is looking to take action on the ordinance before the end of the year, but Ecker believes this is just the beginning of public surveillance law-making in New York City. "They're considering a law that would require all restaurants to have cameras," Ecker noted. See the December issue of Security Systems News for more on this story.