Moving into a Williamsburg apartment - what should you do about the locks first?

The answer is simple: change or rekey every lock before you move anything in. You have no way of knowing how many copies of the old key are floating around Williamsburg - former tenants, an ex-roommate, a previous super, whoever handled the estate sale of the last occupant. The lock on the door when you arrive is not your lock. It belongs to everyone who ever lived there before you.

This is not a minor detail. It is the first real security decision you make in your new home, and it takes less than an hour to get right.

What should you actually do with the locks on move-in day?

Start with a quick access audit. Walk every entry point - front door, back door, any door that leads to a shared hallway or roof. In a prewar walk-up in Bed-Stuy or a ground-floor loft in East Williamsburg, those secondary doors are often the ones people forget about and the ones that get targeted.

For each door, check the deadbolt and the knob or lever lock separately. Give the cylinder a wiggle. A loose cylinder is a serious problem - it can be extracted with basic tools, and if the building has seen any turnover recently, that wear adds up fast. If anything moves when it should not, that lock needs to come off the door, not just be rekeyed.

The standard move-in rekey works like this: a locksmith pulls the cylinder, resets the internal pins to a new key cut, and reinstalls it. Your old key stops working. The previous tenant's key stops working. The spare that got copied at some hardware store three years ago stops working. If the building has a master key system - common in larger Greenpoint and Downtown Brooklyn rentals - the locksmith rekeys your unit to the new cut while keeping it compatible with the master. This is a master key reset specific to your door, not the whole building.

If the hardware is worn out or you want to upgrade, a full lock change makes sense. On a standard Brooklyn apartment door, that typically means replacing the deadbolt with something like a Medeco Maxum or a Schlage B60N. Both are solid single-cylinder deadbolts that meet NYC building code requirements. The Medeco offers pick and drill resistance that is genuinely harder to defeat. The Schlage is a reliable, widely available option that holds up well in high-use buildings.

Are there other moments besides move-in when you should reset your locks?

Yes, several. Any one of these is reason enough to call a locksmith without waiting:

• After a breakup or roommate move-out. Spare key roundups are unreliable. People forget, lose keys, or simply do not return them. A rekey is cleaner and final.
• After a break-in or attempted break-in. Even if nothing was taken, the hardware may be damaged or the cylinder compromised. Replace, do not rekey, after a break-in.
• When a new super takes over. Building supers often hold master keys. A change in building management is a good trigger for an access audit and a conversation with your landlord about the master key situation.
• Before a long vacation. This is also the time to check weatherproofing on door hardware. Brooklyn winters are hard on exposed metal, and a lock that stiffens in cold weather is a lock that can fail.
• Annual seasonal check. Winter and summer both stress lock hardware differently. Lubricate cylinders with a dry graphite lubricant, not oil-based spray, which attracts grime. Check that the bolt throws cleanly and the strike plate is solid in the frame.
• Landlord or small business turnover rekey. If you own or manage a Bushwick storefront or a Williamsburg brownstone and a tenant moves out, rekey before the next tenant moves in. Every time. It is a basic obligation and a basic liability question.

For small business owners, there is an additional layer: rolling gate locks and commercial cylinder systems. A standard pin tumbler cylinder on a rolling gate takes a beating from weather and daily use. An annual check by a commercial locksmith catches wear before it becomes an emergency lockout on a Monday morning.

When does a rekey stop being enough and a full upgrade make sense?

A rekey is the right call when the hardware is structurally sound. A full replacement makes sense in four situations: the cylinder is worn or loose, the door has been kicked or forced at any point, you are buying a home rather than renting, or you want meaningfully better security than the builder-grade hardware that came with the unit.

Bought a brownstone in Bed-Stuy or a co-op in Greenpoint? Replace the locks. You do not know the full key history of a purchased property, especially one coming out of an estate sale or a foreclosure situation. A rekey assumes the lock itself is trustworthy. On a property purchase, that assumption is not safe.

For higher security, two products are worth knowing by name. The Medeco Maxum deadbolt uses a rotating pin design that resists picking and provides key control - copies cannot be made without authorization. The Abloy Protec2 is a disc-detainer lock with no springs to manipulate and exceptional resistance to both picking and drilling. It is on the pricier end, but for a ground-floor loft in East Williamsburg or a high-traffic Bushwick storefront, it is a serious lock that serious people use.

Smart locks are another option worth considering. The Schlage Encode Plus is a deadbolt with built-in WiFi and no external hub required. It works with Apple Home Key, supports up to 100 access codes, and logs entry history. For landlords managing multiple units or supers handling key handover, that access log is genuinely useful. It still installs in a standard prep hole, so no door modification is required.

If you are in Williamsburg or anywhere across Brooklyn and want a straight answer about which option fits your door and your situation, walk into B & G Hardware on Roebling St or call B & G Locksmith at (347) 699-9268. There is a real counter, real hardware on the shelf, and keys cut while you wait - not a dispatch center putting you on hold.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have the right to change my locks when I move into a Brooklyn rental?

In New York City, tenants have the right to change their own locks. Your landlord is entitled to a copy of the new key. Rekeying is usually the cleaner option because it keeps the existing hardware and just resets who can get in.

What's the difference between rekeying and replacing a lock?

Rekeying changes the internal pins so old keys no longer work - the lock body stays the same. Replacing swaps out the entire lock. If the hardware is in good shape, a rekey is faster and less expensive. If the cylinder is worn, loose, or damaged, full replacement makes more sense.

How long does a rekey or lock change take at B & G Locksmith?

A standard rekey on a single cylinder deadbolt takes about 15 to 20 minutes on-site. A full lock change, depending on the hardware selected, usually runs 30 to 45 minutes. Walk-in key cutting at our counter on Roebling St is done while you wait.