What Brooklyn Boards & Building Owners Actually Ask
Straight answers to the questions boards, owners, and managing agents raise on Reddit, in our inbox, and on every building walkthrough.
Cost & budget
What does a building system actually cost in Brooklyn?All-in, roughly $500–$1,500 per camera installed. A small brownstone or walk-up covering stoop, vestibule, and lobby (6–8 cameras) commonly lands $5,000–$12,000; a full multi-floor walk-up with per-landing stair-halls, rear yard, and cellar (16–32 cameras) typically runs $10,000–$25,000+. Fishing cable through brownstone brick and old plaster drives the spread, so we quote a fixed price only after a walkthrough.
Why is labor so much more than the camera price?In a Brooklyn building the cabling is the work. Labor runs roughly $75–$150/hour, and running Cat6 from a cellar or lobby NVR up through risers to every stair-hall landing and out to the rear yard — fished through brownstone brick and plaster-and-lath with fire-rated penetrations, brick-safe so the facade isn’t damaged — is far more labor than the cameras themselves.
Quality & trust
How does the board avoid a bad low-bid installer?Be wary of anyone who quotes without walking the building, uses unnamed off-brand cameras, drills the brownstone facade carelessly, or can’t provide a certificate of insurance naming the corporation. The cheapest quote almost always changes mid-job. Ask for a NYS license number, a written fixed-price scope, and references from other Brooklyn buildings.
Does the building really need a licensed contractor?Yes. In New York, installing security systems requires a NYS license, and most Brooklyn co-op/condo proprietary leases require licensed, insured contractors with a COI naming the building. A licensed low-voltage contractor also knows the common-area vs. unit placement rules — and the Landmarks-district facade rules — a handyman doesn’t. We’re NYS #12000287431, insured, and provide COIs for the managing agent.
Landlord, board & tenant
Can a landlord put cameras in the hallways and lobby?Yes. Brooklyn building owners may record common areas — lobbies, hallways, stairwells, vestibules, mailrooms, laundry rooms, and rear yards — because residents have no reasonable expectation of privacy there. Cameras may never go inside a unit, and hallway cameras must be aimed so they don’t see into an apartment when the door opens.
Can a tenant install their own camera outside their door?A tenant may generally put a camera inside their unit or a peephole-style camera on their own door, but a camera aimed down a shared hallway or at a neighbor’s door can violate other residents’ privacy and usually needs landlord or board approval. Building-wide common-area coverage is the landlord’s or board’s job — that’s what we install.
Technical
How many cameras does an apartment building need?Depends on floors, entrances, and amenities. Rough starts: a brownstone or 6-unit walk-up 4–8 (stoop, vestibule, lobby, rear yard), a mid-size walk-up building 12–20 (add per-landing stair-halls), a large multi-building complex 32+ (add courtyard, laundry, cellar, bike room). One fisheye covers a whole lobby. We map it on the walkthrough.
What resolution and retention should a building use?4MP baseline for stair-halls; 8MP/4K with full-color night vision at the stoop, vestibule, lobby, and mailroom where you must ID a face on a dark side street. Retention should be 30–60 days so a resident can report a package theft days later and the footage still exists. We size storage before quoting.
NVR or cloud for a building?Local NVR in a locked closet or cellar for a single Brooklyn building — no monthly fee, the building owns the footage. Cloud for a management company running many buildings from one dashboard. Hybrid keeps local recording plus cloud backup of flagged events.
Compliance & legal
Can building cameras record audio?Almost never. A hallway or lobby camera capturing residents’ conversations can be illegal eavesdropping under Penal Law §250.05 and the federal Wiretap Act. We disable audio on all common-area cameras by default.
Do we have to notify residents about cameras?Common-area signage and a lease/house-rule disclosure are best practice and standard in NYC buildings — they deter crime and defeat privacy-expectation claims. Cameras are banned in any unit, bathroom, or locker room under §250.45. If the building has staff, NYC’s employee electronic-monitoring notice also applies.
Complaints & reliability
Our last installer vanished and the cameras don’t work — how is this different?That’s the most common complaint we hear from Brooklyn boards: wires stapled across the brownstone facade, dead cameras no one maintains, no callback. Non-working “dummy” cameras also create board liability and can void insurance. We’re a local licensed contractor; our crews answer, and we provide a parts warranty and documented scope.
