Re: Here's who's buying panic rooms and bullet-proof doors amid crime fears in NYC - and it's not who you'd think

[Bob F <bobnospam@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 5/13/2024 1:20 AM, useapen wrote:
> New Yorkers are fortifying their homes with panic rooms and bullet-proof
> doors like never before over fears about crime, migrants and national
> turmoil â?? and itâ??s not just the cityâ??s elite partaking in the trend.
>
> â??Not every [customer] is an ultra-rich stockbroker â?? a lot of them are
> just people, middle-class kind of people,â?? said Steve Humble, founder of
> the home-defense contractor Creative Home Engineering.
>
> â??Iâ??d say the pandemic really kicked off an uptick. Business was really
> good throughout the pandemic time, and it really hasnâ??t slowed down,â?? said
> Humble, who specializes in top-of-the-line secret doors disguised as
> bookshelves, fireplaces, mirrors, blank walls and whatever else a client
> can think of to conceal a safety room behind them.
>
> He is one of numerous home-defense contractors who told The Post that the
> past four years have been a boon for business, with New Yorkers from all
> walks of life shelling out thousands of dollars to outfit their homes with
> hidden rooms, bulletproof doors and a swath of other covert security
> systems to keep the baddies at bay should they come knocking.
>
> The driving force is a decline in New Yorkersâ?? sense of safety â?? assaults
> in the Big Apple reached 28,000 for the first time on record last year  â??
> and the perceptible shift toward volatile instability that many people
> feel is ramping up across all of American society, Humble and others say.
>
> â??Whether itâ??s real or perceived. People feel like crime is up,â?? Humble
> said, explaining he has installed â??well over 100â?? doors in homes across
> New York, with middle-class homes in Queens and the Bronx standing out.
>
> David Vranicar, whose company Fortified and Ballistic Security specializes
> in such things as bulletproof doors and windows, said New Yorkers from
> less affluent parts of Queens and Brooklyn have been driving his business
> in the city, too.
>
> â??Those are the people that actually need to stop bad guys from getting in
> the house,â?? Vranicar said.
>
> â??[What] my clients have been expressing to me is we saw how quickly
> society can break down during COVID,â?? he said. â??So, what would happen if
> something really drastic happened? I think everybodyâ??s a little scared.â??
>
> While Humble specializes in concealing without-a-trace hidden safe rooms,
> Vranicarâ??s defensive philosophy is focused on keeping the baddies moving
> on by fortifying points of entry such as front doors and windows.
>
> â??What we want to do is say, â??If the riot breaks out, can I be secured?â??
> And the reality is, even if itâ??s bad, and theyâ??re banging on your door,
> and they canâ??t get in, and itâ??s steel all the way around, theyâ??re not
> coming in. Theyâ??re just not, and theyâ??ll move on,â?? he explained.
>
> He said he also focuses on fortifying bedrooms where homeowners are most
> likely to be at their most vulnerable â?? asleep â?? should trouble make its
> way inside.
>
> While Vranicar and Humble offer high-end custom projects â?? which can
> quickly add up to tens of thousands of dollars and more â?? both also said
> they provide a line of products to fortify or conceal doors on more
> conservative budgets.
>
> Humbleâ??s most affordable hidden door costs about $1,000, and though
> Vranicarâ??s cheapest door starts around $6,000, he pointed out that
> installing one such door on an apartment above ground level is going to
> make the place as secure as it can be.
>
> â??In New York, if you could afford six-grand for a door, youâ??re pretty much
> gonna be really safe,â?? Vranicar said.
>
> Though both have outfitted the homes of celebrities and statesmen alike,
> average New Yorkers have helped make the city one of their biggest markets
> across the country, they said.
>
> â??Thereâ??s a lot of people in New York that are ordering the pre-designed
> secret doors from us,â?? said Humble, noting that New York City is one of
> his top three markets.
>
> For not-so-average New Yorkers, thereâ??s Bill Rigdon of Panic Room Builders
> â?? who caters to clients with homes worth around $10 million at a minimum.
>
> â??The people below that canâ??t get their head around spending $50,000 for a
> door,â?? Rigdon told The Post.
>
> Rigdon builds panic rooms averaging between $100,000 and $200,000 â?? but
> can quickly cost well above that. The rooms are equipped with a host of
> defensive measures and life support such as food, water, plumbing, medical
> equipment, power sources and communication systems.
>
> Beyond ballistic doors that can stop AK-47 rounds and up, Rigdonâ??s panic
> rooms can have electrified handles, smoke-screen launchers, concealed
> nozzles for blasting dyed pepper spray at intruders and remotely
> controlled robots or drones armed with shotgun shells.
>
> As with Humble and Vranicar, the names and addresses of Ridgonâ??s clients
> are all protected by strict non-disclosure agreements, but he said the
> city has become â??a different ballgameâ?? with â??1% of 1% customersâ?? in recent
> years.
>
> â??The migrant thing has got people brain-spun because theyâ??re living in
> their crystal palace out in the Hamptons and they have to drive through
> the city. and they see this,â?? Rigdon said.
>
> â??In the city right now, itâ??s is the rampant crime, right? Political
> unrest, which you see on the streets. And when these migrants started
> going into town, you know, itâ??s broadcasts all over the news â?? my phone
> blew up.â??
>
> Recent city headlines have been so alarming that Rigdon estimates about
> 90% of his Big Apple business right now comes from previous clients who
> fear the instability â?? and potentially more from the upcoming 2024
> presidential election.
>
> â??Itâ??s not â??if,â?? itâ??s â??whenâ?? itâ??s coming,â?? â?? Rigdon said. â??I have people I
> work with in the agencies in Pittsburgh, and Philly â?? the FBI, you name it
> â?? and theyâ??re worried. If theyâ??re worried. Why shouldnâ??t we be worried?â??
>
> Vranicar and Humble said they also have been seeing a similar trend among
> clients, many of whom have expressed fears over what has been simmering
> across America since 2016 â?? and may be coming to a head in the fall.
>
> â??Thereâ??s a bigger gap between a two sets of people groups: the haves and
> the have-nots, and the red versus the blue,â?? Vranicar said. â??And the
> division is getting bigger and bigger and more and more polarized. And
> itâ??s got both sides freaking out. Itâ??s made everybody on edge.
>
> â??A reason I believe we have such an uptick in business is America is
> becoming more like the rest of the world,â?? he said. â??Just because you live
> in America, youâ??re not necessarily safe anymore. It was the case for a
> very long time, but not so much anymore.â??
>
> Conversation
>
> engineer-24-7-365
> 2 hours ago
>
> Very expensive alternative to being armed.
>
> ...and anyone who can afford these can afford to "buy" a permit.
>
> I'm Your Huckleberry
> 10 hours ago
>
> Why would anyone need this? Mayor Bojangles says NYC is the safest city in
> America. If you disagree you only need change your perception of crime.
>
> https://nypost.com/2024/05/12/us-news/heres-whos-buying-panic-rooms-and-
> bullet-proof-doors-in-nyc-and-you-wouldnt-believe-it/

Must be mostly Faux News viewers.

"Continued declines across most major crime categories prevailed during
January
2024, compared to the first month of last year, and included substantial
drops in murder, rape, burglary, and felony assault. And for the second
month in a row, the number of vehicles stolen in New York City was
reduced by at least 3.8% (1,178 vs. 1,224)."

https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/news/p00099/nypd-january-2024-citywide-crime-statistics