New Yorkers are fortifying their homes with unprecedented panic rooms and bulletproof doors due to fears of crime, immigration, and national chaos, but the city’s elite aren’t the only ones participating in this trend.
“Not all [customer] The company is a stockbroker for the super-rich, but many of them are just people, middle-class people,” said Steve Humble, founder of the home defense contractor. creative home engineering.
“I think the pandemic really sparked an economic recovery. Throughout the pandemic, business has been really good and hasn’t really slowed down,” he said. said Humble, who specializes in the finest secret doors disguised as anything available. Consider hiding a safe room in the back.
He’s one of many home defense contractors whose business has been a boon over the past four years, with New Yorkers from all walks of life shelling out thousands of dollars to outfit their homes with secret rooms, bulletproof doors and security equipment. he told the Post. In case the bad guys come knocking, other secret security systems are placed around the area to keep them at bay.
The driving force is New Yorkers’ declining sense of safety, with assaults in the Big Apple reaching 28,000 last year for the first time on record. And it’s a clear shift in the precarious instability that many people feel is pervasive throughout American society. Humble et al.
“Whether it’s real or perceived. People feel that crime is increasing,” Humble said, adding that “well over 100” doors have been installed in homes across New York. He explained that the system is particularly noticeable in middle-class homes in Queens and the Bronx.
David Vranikal’s company Enhanced bulletproof security The company, which specializes in bulletproof doors and windows, said New Yorkers from less affluent areas of Queens and Brooklyn are also driving business in the city.
“They’re the ones who actually need to stop bad guys from getting into their homes,” Vranikal said.
“[What] “My clients have told me that they have seen firsthand how quickly society is collapsing during COVID-19,” he said. “So what happens if something really dramatic happens? I think everyone’s a little scared.”
While Humble specializes in hiding hidden safe rooms without a trace, Vranikal’s defensive philosophy focuses on keeping villains moving forward by fortifying entry points such as front doors and windows. I am.
“What we’re saying is, ‘If a riot breaks out, will I be safe?'” And the reality is, even if it’s bad, even if they’re knocking on your door. , they won’t come in, and even though there’s steel all around them, they won’t come in. They just don’t, and they move on,” he explained.
He said homeowners are also focusing on hardening their bedrooms, where they are most likely to be most vulnerable if the problem invades the most dangerous area: sleep.
While Vranicar and Humble offer high-end custom projects that can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars or more, the companies also offer product lines to enhance and conceal doors on more modest budgets, he said. states.
The price of Humble’s most affordable hidden door is about $1,000, and Vranikar’s cheapest door starts from about $6,000, but installing one such door in a ground-level apartment can make the place He pointed out that it would be as safe as possible.
“In New York, if you have six grand per door, you’re pretty much safe,” Vranikal said.
While both have similarly decorated homes of celebrities and politicians, they said average New Yorkers have helped make the city one of the nation’s largest markets.
“We have a lot of people in New York who order pre-designed secret doors from us,” Humble said, noting that New York City is one of his top three markets.
For the not-so-average New Yorker, Bill Rigdon is panic room builder — Serves customers with homes worth at least about $10 million.
“People below that are fine with spending $50,000 on a door,” Rigdon told the Post.
The average cost for Rigdon to build a panic room is $100,000 to $200,000, but it can quickly cost much more than that. The room is equipped with a variety of defenses and life support equipment, including food, water, plumbing, medical equipment, power, and communication systems.
Rigdon’s panic room is equipped with a bulletproof door that can stop AK-47 bullets and above, as well as an energized handle, a smoke launcher, a hidden nozzle for spraying dyed pepper spray on intruders, and a shotgun shell. Remotely controlled robots and drones are installed.
Like Humble and Vranikar, the names and addresses of all of Rigon’s customers are protected by strict confidentiality agreements, but he said the city has seen “1% of 1% of customers” in recent years “play another ball game.” ”.
“Immigrants are driving people crazy because they live in crystal palaces in the Hamptons and have to drive through the city. And they see this.” said Rigdon.
“Right now, there’s a lot of crime in the city, right? The political unrest that you see in the city. And when these immigrants started going into town, it was on the news and my phone exploded. ”
Recent headlines in the city have been so alarming that Rigdon said about 90% of the Big Apple’s business now comes from former customers concerned about instability and the upcoming 2024 presidential election. We estimate that the number may increase further.
“It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ it happens,” Rigdon said. “I have people I work with in government agencies in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, like the FBI, and they’re worried. If they’re worried. Why not worry? mosquito?”
Vranikal and Humble say they’re seeing a similar trend among customers, many of whom have expressed concern about a problem that has been smoldering across the U.S. since 2016 and could reach a climax in the fall. said.
“There is a greater divide between the two groups: the haves and the have-nots, the red and the blue,” Vranikal said. “And the division is getting bigger and bigger and more and more polarized. And both sides are confused. It’s made everyone nervous.
“The reason I think business is improving so much is because America is becoming more like the rest of the world,” he said. “Just because you live in America doesn’t necessarily mean you’re safe. It’s been that way for a very long time, but not so much now.”
