By: Erin Drenning

A little over a month ago, I wrote a blog post about an anti-loitering device mounted at the top of a Gallery Place Metro station exit in Washington, D.C. The Mosquito was installed in August, funded by local business owners who hoped the high-pitched beeping sound emitted by the machine would drive away teens who have made the 7th Street corridor their hangout.

But the noise is no more. A representative from the National Youth Rights Association filed a complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights, alleging that the use of the device amounts to age discrimination. The city requested that the Mosquito be voluntarily removed pending an investigation into NYRA’s allegations. According to the Washington Post, the device has been taken down and there are no plans for re-installation.

Which brings us back to the original issue: What’s to be done about the increasing property crime and violence in Chinatown? It seemed obvious to me that a beeping box was not the answer to such a serious and growing problem, but what, then, is?

Watch the video below to see what people thought about the beeping when the device was in use:

http://www.vimeo.com/14647059