What Manhattan 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 Manhattan?All-in, roughly $500–$1,500 per camera installed. A small pre-war co-op covering entry, lobby, and mailroom (6–10 cameras) commonly lands $6,000–$14,000; a full doorman high-rise with per-floor hallways, elevators, and garage (16–40 cameras) typically runs $12,000–$30,000+. Cabling through pre-war masonry and coordinating with the managing agent 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 Manhattan building the cabling is the work. Labor runs roughly $75–$150/hour, and running Cat6 from a lobby NVR up through risers to every floor’s hallway and down to the garage — through a pre-war building with plaster-and-lath walls, no existing conduit, and fire-rated penetrations, on the managing agent’s freight-elevator schedule — 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, or can’t provide a certificate of insurance naming the corporation and managing agent. The cheapest quote almost always changes mid-job. Ask for a NYS license number, a written fixed-price scope, and references from other Manhattan buildings.
Does the building really need a licensed contractor?Yes. In New York, installing security systems requires a NYS license, and most Manhattan co-op/condo proprietary leases require licensed, insured contractors with a COI naming the building and managing agent (FirstService Residential, Douglas Elliman, AKAM). A licensed low-voltage contractor also knows the common-area vs. unit placement 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. Manhattan building owners may record common areas — lobbies, hallways, elevators, mailrooms, laundry rooms, and garages — 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 small pre-war walk-up 6–10 (entry, lobby, mailroom, rear door), a mid-size elevator building 12–20 (add elevators and per-floor halls), a large doorman high-rise 32–40+ (add garage, service entrance, laundry, bike room, amenity floors). One fisheye covers a whole lobby. We map it on the walkthrough.
What resolution and retention should a building use?4MP baseline for hallways and stairwells; 8MP/4K at the front entrance, lobby, doorman desk, and mailroom where you must ID a face. 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 for a single Manhattan building — no monthly fee, the building owns the footage. Cloud for a managing agent 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 Manhattan boards: wires hanging in the lobby, 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.
