Yonkers, NY Privacy & Surveillance: Security Camera Rules (2026)

, check-cashing businesses, licensed secondhand dealers that buy and sell precious metals, state-licensed pharmacies, and City-licensed pawn shops. Each must install a video camera system meeting specific technical minimums: cameras at every entrance and exit used by customers or employees, positioned to capture a full facial image and, where practical, activity within 15 feet of the doorway; enough light sensitivity and resolution for clear facial images at all times; recording at a minimum of eight frames per second; digital recorders capable of exporting to portable media; and operation during all business hours plus two hours after closing.

Audio is not required. Section 84-2 layers on operating procedures: recordings must be preserved for a minimum of 30 days, made available to the Yonkers Police Department for an official investigation or on the Police Commissioner's approval, turned over on police demand, stored in a locked, access-controlled location, logged whenever anyone requests or accesses the footage, and made available for inspection by the Building Department and Police Department during business hours. Every covered business must file an annual certification of compliance with the Police Department by January 31.

Section 84-4 lets the Police Commissioner grant one extension of up to six months for a business that shows good reason it cannot meet the installation deadline. Nothing in the chapter reaches private homes or creates any residential registry or doorbell-camera program.