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Apartment Security: Window Gurads VS Security System — Brooklynian

Apartment Security: Window Gurads VS Security System

thomas_kelly
thomas_kelly
edited November -1 in Prospect Heights
I will be moving into a ground floor apartment in Prospect Heights (Washington Ave near Pacific) in the Spring. The unit has very large windows with great views. However, the windows are only about 4 or 5 ft off the street and I'm concerned about security. Ideally, we would like to buy a high end security system and not have bars covering the windows. Is that enough though? I'm very new to the neighborhood, so I would love any thoughts people may have.
Thanks!

Comments

  • flo
    flo
    This just in: Ground floor apartments on Washington Ave near Pacific offer incredible views.
  • hitokiri
    hitokiri
    best security to me is to NOT have ground floor
  • silverager
    silverager
    I have lived on the ground floor in the back of my building for over 16 years without incident. I know it isn't hard to get to the back of my building (I scaled the fence/barbed wire once in about 10 seconds when getting cable installed and the super did not answer his bell to let them through) so I would attribute it to my window guards. yes they are quite unnatractive but they do the trick. Nice drapes and christmas lights help soften the harsh look.
  • chekhovian
    chekhovian
    how quickly we forget the robberies via fire escapes on underhill.

    http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=508480&sid=a830c17976465721898380b028680396
  • hitokiri
    hitokiri
    freekin spiderman was committing robberies! lol
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    It's foolish not to have a FDNY-approved gate on your window leading to the fire escape.
  • brooklynite03
    brooklynite03
    Installing a window gate on outside accessible windows was one of the first things we did when we moved in. It might ruin your view (I'm not sure what kind of view that would be), but you'll sleep better at night. You can get ones that aren't completely hideous as well...
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Re the first floor, the "beauty" of full bars (not simply FDNY child guards) is that you can leave your windows open when you are not home.

    ...this is especially nice during the summer months.

    P.S. You can always be cheap and just buy an alarm sticker, for deterence they work as well as the alarms.
    http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38.l1313&_nkw=alarm+sticker&_sacat=See-All-Categories
  • modsquad
    modsquad
    Do you have sprinklers in the apartment or in the hallway? More telling, is there a fire escape on the upper floors? If the stairs/hallway are sprinkled, do you have 2 different doors going to that stairway or better yet is there a separate back stairs.
  • althea
    althea
    Where can I buy one of those gates for the fire escape? Also, can you get one delivered? Cheap?
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    Althea wrote: Where can I buy one of those gates for the fire escape? Also, can you get one delivered? Cheap?
    They are generally professionally installed. The less expensive, but kind of ugly type is an accordion-style gate. Wrought iron is more expensive, but can be made custom to fit odd shaped/sized windows, and looks much better. I think most locksmiths should be able to arrange this for you.

    If you have homeowner's or renter's insurance (which you should), you generally get a discount (5% or so) for having a "protective device" which will slightly mitigate the cost of installation.
  • althea
    althea
    I have renter's insurance and I appreciate your description of my options but can you tell me where I can buy one of those gates? Also, do you know of any company that delivers them, cheap?
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    Carnivore wrote: I think most locksmiths should be able to arrange this for you.
  • althea
    althea
    Do you have a local locksmith that you would suggest?
  • modsquad
    modsquad
    Strictly speaking wrought iron isn't made anymore. Only used in a serious restoration of museum quality. If you insist on wrought iron you will get an expensive simulation that is no stronger than simple steel bar. If you want to save money, cut out the locksmith and go to any of the small welding/fabricating shops clustered between 3rd and fourth aves stretching all the way to Sunset Park. They can make up square steel bar gates including the approved FDNY opening apparatus if you want. If you are sprinklered then you don't need to use the windows as a legal exit. Their installation will be stronger than a locksmith because they will set steel pins into the mortar and weld the gates in place. Don't forget to allow for an AC unit if necessary.
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    Althea wrote: Do you have a local locksmith that you would suggest?
    Sorry, but my current apartment already had them installed. The locksmith I used for my last apartment was in uptown Manhattan, and that was over 10 years ago, so I don't remember the name.
  • althea
    althea
    Thanks Modsquad,

    Really helpful information, I'll head up there this weekend and ask around about delivery and installation. It makes me very nervous to have such easy access to my little home. The landlord told me that people kept stealing the bars when they moved so he stopped replacing them.

    Also, there aren't any sprinklers so I'll still need to escape if necessary.
  • underthehill
    underthehill
    I know in the apartment building I live in, the landlord is required to give all tenants a notice of whether or not they wish to have windowguards installed. It's given to us yearly, and if we request to have them installed, the landlord takes care of it, including costs involved. The letter is usually stated that windowguards are required when a child of certain age lives in the apartment, but it also states that any tenant can request to have them installed.
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    UnderTheHill wrote: I know in the apartment building I live in, the landlord is required to give all tenants a notice of whether or not they wish to have windowguards installed. It's given to us yearly, and if we request to have them installed, the landlord takes care of it, including costs involved. The letter is usually stated that windowguards are required when a child of certain age lives in the apartment, but it also states that any tenant can request to have them installed.
    Those windowguards are to prevent children from falling or jumping out of the window. They do not provide any significant security against breaking and entering.
  • flo
    flo
    Yeah, my understanding is that the tenant is responsible for security gates, not the landlord. (That info came from an HPD inspector.)

    You can find info about your landlord's requirements here:

    http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/tenants/tenants.shtml

    (I'm sorry I just couldn't resist the crack about ground-floor Washington Ave views above.)
  • modsquad
    modsquad
    Althea wrote: Thanks Modsquad,

    Really helpful information, I'll head up there this weekend and ask around about delivery and installation. It makes me very nervous to have such easy access to my little home. The landlord told me that people kept stealing the bars when they moved so he stopped replacing them.

    Also, there aren't any sprinklers so I'll still need to escape if necessary.
    If your LL will let you (he should, it will enhance the building, you'll have to leave them of course) put them on the outside, easier to clean if your windows are tilt ins. If you don't want to bother with the LL put them on the inside. You can still clean them but you can't use the tilt in feature.
  • althea
    althea
    As I am quite certain that my landlord wouldn't care if I hung dirty socks from them year round, the placement of the bars is certainly not an issue. I'll be sure to get the external ones.

    Note - I do not live in a particularly nice section of the city, but the neighborhood has a certain charm.
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    Althea wrote: As I am quite certain that my landlord wouldn't care if I hung dirty socks from them year round, the placement of the bars is certainly not an issue. I'll be sure to get the external ones.

    Note - I do not live in a particularly nice section of the city, but the neighborhood has a certain charm.
    You should definitely get written permission before getting external ones, since installing them will involve drilling into the masonry. You don't want to give the landlord an excuse to withhold your security deposit.
  • modsquad
    modsquad
    Carnivore wrote: [quote=Althea]As I am quite certain that my landlord wouldn't care if I hung dirty socks from them year round, the placement of the bars is certainly not an issue. I'll be sure to get the external ones.

    Note - I do not live in a particularly nice section of the city, but the neighborhood has a certain charm.
    You should definitely get written permission before getting external ones, since installing them will involve drilling into the masonry. You don't want to give the landlord an excuse to withhold your security deposit.

    Well, yes and no, which leads to the next question. How safe are these gates? For the typical break/ push in sorta thief they are very safe. With a hand grinder and a ladder a gate like this could be removed in less than 10 minutes. Which means if needed you could restore the apartment to it's original state rather quickly, fill the holes with some sort of non shrinking patch and haul your gates away. An offer to remove the gates and restore when you are moving should result in LL responding that it will be OK to leave in place with no penalties. Only the most greedy and stupid of Landlords would do otherwise. Is that redundant?
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