Page 8 - CooperatorNews New York December 2021

8 COOPERATORNEWS — DECEMBER 2021 COOPERATORNEWS.COM someone, anyone. Property is just property. don’t like to show ID, and that can lead to a depression and anxiety been higher. Medical As security professionals, we need to make security breach. Doormen or the concierge professionals are overtaxed and can’t deal sure no one gets injured, or worse.” David Malefsky, senior vice president also true with deliveries, and vendors and for Admiral Security Services, a California- based company with east coast offices locat- ed in North Arlington, New Jersey, stresses the people side of the equation. “Doormen and concierges must be familiar with the may seem alarmist to even bring it up, the says. “When you de-escalate, you transmit a building’s residents, established procedures, issue of rioting and other civil unrest is one sense of being calm and genuine and having and how the two factors interact,” he says. that many urban residents have had to con- “Oftentimes, residents cause additional front over the last year-and-a-half. Sjoberg tor while being respectful, clear, and setting problems by not knowing—or not follow- ing—procedures. We use technology that past 18 months is something that just a few doorman must also have situational aware- allows the doormen, board members, and years ago you’d never think would happen. ness; where they are and who they interact management to view security situations And you can’t really prepare for it. You don’t with, so when this happens, it’s not the first 24/7.” Know Your Neighbors For security concerns both large and radar, Sjoberg continues, “The best approach training for our clients.” small, a building staff’s familiarity with the residents who live there is critical, even in very large properties. This extends to every- thing from thieves and burglars potentially entering the property with false ID, to iden- tifying Airbnb abuses. “Most luxury build- ings don’t ask residents for ID when they enter the building,” says Alexander, “\[but\] in an office building, everyone must show ID.” He says this lapse in residential security is a problem. “What if the regular doorman is on vacation and the substitute doesn’t know the residents’ faces?” And it’s not just about matching faces to a resident roster, Alexander continues. “We train security employees to look at body lan- guage, to notice things and ask questions of strangers, all the while maintaining deco- rum, never being rude. We also recommend can beforehand.” Actions taken in the midst situation,” says Malefsky, but “if the situation arming the elevator with access control. This of a crisis “are to protect the personal safety becomes violent, then security may hold and way, the front desk attendants can greet peo- ple without an inquisition, but if they don’t \[as well as\] the residents and property with have card access to the elevator, they don’t the tools you’ve been provided.” In the case agree that all security people should have get upstairs. Training manpower to work of a building with glass doors, for example, crisis training, that doesn’t mean they need with available technology is crucial.” Airbnb and illegal subletting issues can gates. “Glass doors are hard to defend when hand-to-hand combat or specialized self-de- be a problem in any building or HOA, re- gardless of size or means. Alexander trains Sjoberg, “But what building doesn’t have says Alexander. “We stress de-escalation. employees to know what to look for that glass doors?” Sjoberg says that this is why his Where we have a stationary position \[like a might indicate that a unit in the building firm recommends the concentric ‘rings’ of front desk, a doorman station, or a kiosk\], is essentially being used as a hotel suite— which in addition to being a major security issue for neighbors is also likely forbidden by the building’s governing documents, and frontations between neighbors, or between may even be against state or local laws, as is residents and visitors or other outsiders, to the case in New York City. Fundamentally, erupt in a building’s or association’s common though, “it’s a quality-of-life issue,” Alexan- der stresses. “People show up to use ame- nities who don’t belong there.” And this is more people into the building, some con- where frontline staff’s familiarity with the frontations have the potential to turn violent. residents of the community is so crucial. If And these days, sadly, there’s no shortage of the front desk suspects that something im- proper is going on in a unit, they can alert into verbal and even physical assaults, seem- the building or HOA’s management. If it’s ingly in the blink of an eye. The reasons for management who’s initially made aware of this are beyond the scope of this article, but the issue, they can put the front desk on no- tice, let them know what and who to look for, aware of, and prepared to deal with, say the and instruct them what to do. Malefsky concurs, pointing out that “to- day’s technology helps doormen identify Sjoberg. “People are reemerging into inter- anyone who lives in the building by sight, or personal relationships, but have been af- by asking for ID. The truth is that residents fected by the isolation. At no other time has or both must identify who comes in. This is with all the cases.” service people. Residents don’t help security the potential for violent behavior, the most personnel if they flout building policies.” A New Threat While to those outside of major cities it nique with violent or aggressive people,” he says, “The rioting that has occurred in the boundaries. A staff member, manager, or expect it.” Now that such crisis situations are on the be prepared, which is why we provide this now is to secure your property as best you can only observe and use words to calm the of those under your control and command, detain \[the perpetrator\] until police arrive.” those tools may involve metal fencing or to—or should—be given crash courses in someone has a weapon to break them,” says fense training. “We don’t teach self-defense,” security mentioned earlier. De-escalation While rare, it’s not unheard of for con- areas. Whether it’s an interpersonal issue, a domestic dispute, or an intrusion by one or accounts of minor disagreements escalating the effect is something everyone should be pros. “Post-COVID, society has changed,” says According to Sjoberg, when faced with important tool a security staff member has is de-escalation. “De-escalation is a great tech- an interest in what is bothering the perpetra- time they’ve thought about it. They need to Alexander describes a similar approach. “With violent people, we teach staff to de- escalate and call the police. And whenever we get a report \[of an incident\], we check whether the cops were called, and what their response time was. We then share that infor- mation with the precinct.” Malefsky has a similar protocol. “You calmly talk the person down to where there is no violence,” he says. “If you see a violent situation developing—including domestic violence—call 911 and notify the super or manager, and get the police there to handle any problem.” When it comes to security personnel per- sonally intervening in an active situation, policies differ between companies. “Security And while Malefsky and his colleagues we put a camera where we can monitor our employees for performance and their own safety.” Fundamentally, ‘security’ is as much about securing peace of mind as it is about physically securing a building or property. By taking a critical look at your communi- ty’s unique needs and limitations, balancing those with residents’ expectations, enacting a well-thought-out plan, and making sure your building or HOA employees are on board and well trained, you can protect both the tangible and the less tangible assets of your building or HOA. n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for CooperatorNews. He is also a published novelist. “With violent people, we teach staff to de-escalate and call the police. ...We don’t teach self- defense. We stress de-escalation.” —Alon Alexander SECURITY TRAINING continued from page 1 Many Options, Few Solutions Multifamily buildings come in many shapes and sizes, of course—not to mention ages, locations, histories, financial positions, and residential cultures. When it comes to package security and storage, this means that what might work great for one building or community might not even be an option for another. And with residents continuing to spend more time at home and the op- tions for e-commerce ever increasing, what might work for one building today might be obsolete by the time it’s installed and imple- mented. “Storage needs for package delivery have changed over the years,” says Susan Lauren, the principal of New York-based Lauren Inte- rior Design, a design firm that creates custom interiors for building common spaces such as lobbies, hallways, and amenities areas. “What was appropriate 10 years ago is no longer suf- ficient for most buildings. The space set aside just isn’t large enough.” Even communities built in the last 10 years that specifically allocated space for pack- age storage and security from the start have found that they don’t have the staff necessary to accept, track, and deliver all the packages. Joseph Ferdinando, founder of Building Se- curity Services & Systems, a security systems, technology, and personnel company that has been working with buildings and communi- ties in New York and New Jersey for nearly 40 years, says that the conditions during COVID have measurably exacerbated the issue. “In general, in residential \[buildings\],” he says, “80% of people are home working, so our activity during the day has increased. There has been a tremendous amount of deliver- ies. For the properties that have us providing concierge, doorman, or security officers, we have found the activity during the day has in- creased by 200%, be it food deliveries, UPS, USPS, FedEx, or Amazon.” That “tremendous amount of deliveries” makes the day extremely busy for security and other front-of-house personnel, says Fer- dinando—especially during business hours, when there is increased activity in general. It also creates security and safety concerns with constant traffic into and out of the building, and piles of packages in lobbies, hallways, and other common areas. On top of all that, those piles of unattended packages are a beacon for thieves and vandals—an issue that only be- comes worse during the holidays. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures “Having a designated front desk or prop- erty management staff member accept and store packages at a multi-unit residential building is a common solution,” says Amy Peterselli, an attorney in Brookfield, Illinois, formerly with Chicago-based community association law firm Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit. “However, as the increase in packages has eat- PACKAGE SECURITY continued from page 1 continued on page 10