After years of locksmith calls in Williamsburg, what's the biggest security mistake I see in brownstones?

The single biggest security mistake I see in Williamsburg brownstones is a hollow jamb paired with a short strike plate screwed in with the factory hardware. The deadbolt can be a Medeco or a Mul-T-Lock - the best cylinder money can buy - and none of it matters if the door frame splits on the first solid kick. After years of responding to break-ins and lockouts across Williamsburg, Bed-Stuy, Greenpoint, and Bushwick, this is the pattern I keep seeing. The lock gets the blame. The frame is the real problem.

Why does the door frame matter more than the lock itself?

A standard prewar brownstone door frame is old wood, often dried out and slightly hollow behind the jamb. When a door gets kicked in, the deadbolt throw almost never fails. The strike plate pulls right out of the frame, screws and all, because those screws are only reaching into soft jamb material - not the structural stud behind it.

The fix is straightforward. Replace the builder-grade strike plate with a heavy-gauge reinforced strike - the Schlage B-series reinforced strike or a Don-Jo ELP-211 wrap-around plate are both solid choices we stock. Then swap the short screws that come in the box for 3-inch screws that actually reach the stud. That one change dramatically improves kick-in resistance without touching the lock cylinder at all.

On doors where the jamb itself is too far gone, a Door Armor jamb reinforcement kit wraps the full strike area in steel. It is not a glamorous upgrade. It works. Pry resistance and kick-in resistance both improve, and the door still looks the same from the outside - which matters in a landmarked Williamsburg block.

What other entry points do brownstone owners and landlords overlook?

The front door gets all the attention. The side door, the basement door, and the fire escape window do not. These are the entries I check first when a building owner asks me to do a walkthrough, because burglars in this neighborhood check them too.

Basement doors on brownstones are often secured with a padlock hasp and a cheap padlock. The hasp screws are visible and short. A better setup is a surface-mounted rim lock or a through-bolted hasp with a Abloy PL330 padlock - a hardened shackle that resists cutting. The basement door also rarely has any lighting near it, which matters. A visible deterrent like a well-placed motion light changes the risk calculation for anyone casing the building. Sight lines and lighting are part of security even if they are not locks.

Fire escape windows on the second and third floors get overlooked because people assume height is protection. It is not, especially on a Williamsburg side street with tight alley access. A secondary lock on a fire escape window - a Windstopper sash lock or even a keyed window pin - is cheap, takes ten minutes to install, and adds a real layer to what should be layered security throughout the building.

The side door problem is slightly different. Many brownstone side doors have no deadbolt at all, just a knob lock. Knob locks are not door locks - they are door latches. A Schlage B60N deadbolt with a 1-inch throw costs less than a service call and takes about an hour to install. It should be on every exterior door, not just the front.

What should landlords and supers in Brooklyn do about key control and building access?

Key control is where I see landlords lose track of their buildings. A brownstone with four units gets rekeyed when someone moves out, but the common door has been on the same key since 2009. Former tenants, their old roommates, and anyone else who ever had a copy have access to the vestibule and the stairwell. Piggybacking - someone slipping in behind a resident - starts with an unlocked or propped common door, but it gets worse when unauthorized keys are floating around the neighborhood.

The practical answer for landlords managing multiple units is a Medeco Maxum or Mul-T-Lock MT5+ cylinder on the common door. These use restricted keys - keys that cannot be duplicated at a hardware store without authorization. Walk-in key cutting shops cannot cut them without the card. That gives a landlord actual key control: a real audit trail of who has copies and the ability to track changes over time.

For buildings that want to move away from keys entirely, a ButterflyMX video intercom with a Schlage or Yale smart access control unit on the common door solves the tailgating and piggybacking problem differently. Residents buzz in from their phone. There is a log of every entry. Management can add or remove access without cutting a single key. We install these regularly on Bed-Stuy brownstones and Downtown Brooklyn walkups, and the setup is the same in Williamsburg.

Common-sense security on a brownstone is not about having the most expensive hardware. It is about making sure every layer - frame, lock, secondary lock, lighting, key control - is actually doing its job. One weak link makes the rest of it irrelevant.

If you own or manage a brownstone in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, or anywhere else in Brooklyn and you want a real set of eyes on the building, call B & G Locksmith at (347) 699-9268 or stop by the counter at 210 Roebling St. We can walk through what you have, tell you what is worth upgrading, and handle the work the same day in most cases.

Frequently asked questions

What screws should be in a brownstone strike plate in Brooklyn?

Use 3-inch screws that reach the stud behind the door frame - not the short 3/4-inch screws most strike plates ship with. A Schlage B-series deadbolt with a Schlage reinforced strike and 3-inch screws is the single most cost-effective kick-in upgrade on a Williamsburg brownstone.

Do I need a second lock on my brownstone apartment door?

Yes. A good deadbolt is the baseline, but adding a door reinforcement bar or a secondary vertical deadbolt like the Segal 485 gives you layered security that matters most when the front door has already been piggybacked open by a stranger.

Can I walk into B & G Locksmith without an appointment?

Yes. B & G Locksmith is the locksmith counter inside B & G Hardware at 210 Roebling St in Williamsburg. Walk in anytime during business hours for key cutting, lock hardware, or to talk through a security upgrade. No appointment needed.