"Skirt Cam" Found Under Subway Grate On Upper East

[BJ_M]

Police found a so-called "skirt cam" under a subway grate at 88th Street and Lexington Avenue Tuesday afternoon after a woman called police saying she had noticed suspicious wires protruding from the grate as she passed by.

Police closed off the street, fearing the device was a bomb, but soon realized that it was a four-inch multi-media video camera that was pointing upward and recording passers-by.

The camera was attached to an external hard-drive, making it possible for the video to be saved and then uploaded onto the Internet.

Investigators do not consider the camera to be a threat to public safety, but they do consider it a threat to individual privacy.

Some passersby in the neighborhood who spoke to NY1 said they would think twice before ever walking over a grate again.

"It's pretty awful. It really is. I think that I walk over that every single day, but she actually wears skirts more than I do," said one woman, referring to another woman with her. "I happen to have one on today. I'm so glad that I was wearing pants [the rest of the time.]"

"It's really weird that people would actually do this," said a young girl. "I think it's disgusting."

"I generally don't walk on grates," said another woman, who added that she definitely won't be walking over grates from now on.

Police sources say investigators are looking into the possibility the camera was installed by MTA workers.

The California company that manufactures the camera says it will work with police to trace the serial number back to its owner.

A few years ago, Governor George Pataki signed a law making "video voyeurism" a felony offense in New York State, meaning the person responsible for installing the camera could face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

[jackal70058]

People were doing this with the camera cell phone a while back in shopping malls.

[VCDHunter]

Pics ?

[pacmania_2001]

Pics ?

[zzyzzx]

I also want pics...

[BJ_M]

[stiltman]

Just going to say, "That's a big opening"

[pfh]

What a moron! I can surmise that this dude was always the one dropping his pencil in high school class- if ya know what I mean!!? Peter Pan syndrome- never grew up.