Excerpt:
A controversial New York Police Department surveillance unit that cataloged information on Muslim communities has been disbanded, according to the department.
The NYPD's Demographics Unit -- or Zone Assessment Unit -- was developed with the CIA's help after the September 11, 2001, attacks. The unit has acknowledged that it engaged in monitoring that included Muslim-owned business and mosques across the New York region and has been the target of controversy and civil lawsuits.
"The Zone Assessment Unit, previously referred to as the demographics unit, has been largely inactive since January," the department said in a statement Tuesday. "Recently, as part of an ongoing assessment of Intelligence Bureau operations, personnel assigned to the Zone Assessment Unit were reassigned to other duties within the Intelligence Bureau."