Thwarting Theft

OUR PORTFOLIO consists of
about 125 buildings, the majority
in Queens with a few in
Manhattan and Brooklyn and
a handful in the Bronx. I’d say
about 20% have full-time doormen
and 10% have part-time
doormen. In our part-time and
non-doorman buildings, package
theft was becoming a major issue.
We surveyed all of our buildings
to see which doors were
easy to break into with a screwdriver
and then put lock plates
over them. Security cameras are
great—we have a couple of them
outside the building, one in the
vestibule and more in the hallways.
But we wanted more of a
deterrent, so we added signage
in our vestibules to tell thieves,
“This building is no-go. We’re
going to get you on camera.”
A lot of these buildings are
older, and they don’t have space
for package rooms, so we’ve
been putting in cages wherever
we can find room, maybe below
a stairway. We’re working with
Butterfly MX, which does excellent
locker systems.
Residents have a four-digit code
to get in. We tell our superintendents
with those cage buildings
to make sure all the packages
are put in throughout the day to
prevent theft.
What’s great is that we know
the delivery people, and they
know our buildings. They know
that we like packages to go in the
back of the lobby where they’re
not visible through the doorway,
and they know the codes to open
up our package rooms or cages.
They don’t want things stolen
from their delivery. It’s more of a
headache for them, with insurance
claims and repeat deliveries and
so forth.
But I think the biggest thing
with this is talking to the residents.
Give them information,
communication and education
that there are thieves out there
who want your packages. Pick
packages up right away, and work
with us when it comes to securing
packages. We’re trying to
have the least desirable buildings
for thieves, and we’re hoping the
thefts taper off.