New York City’s police video camera surveillance network will be expanding with the help of $24 million in Federal grants, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced on Sunday.

The planned expansion will extend surveillance from lower Manhattan to “sensitive locations” in Midtown by 2011, Bloomberg said. Eventually, the initiative is expected to include thousands of video cameras.

In addition to cameras, already in place are also license plate readers and weapons sensors meant to prevent terrorism. The security push is called the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative.

“We are expanding our state-of-the-art counter-terrorism coordination center to include Midtown Manhattan,” Mayor Bloomberg said at the Lower Manhattan Security Coordination Center.

Police and representatives from the private sector work together to monitor data that are collected, according to the Mayor’s office.

The current security coverage includes all the area below Canal Street, including connecting bridges and tunnels

The initiative began in late 2008. It was modeled after a similar security measure in London.

New york city New York Video Security