Queens
Queens has some of the most varied housing in New York. For example, you will find garden apartment co-ops, six-story elevator buildings, high-rise condos, two-family homes, and busy storefront corridors. Douglas Security System (DSS) repairs and installs intercoms across Queens. We’ve also worked on New York intercom systems for over 35 years.
One of our customers, a property manager for an apartment complex in Queens, hired us to upgrade the building’s intercom and surveillance system. The customer was happy with both the work and the pricing. So whether you need one apartment station replaced or a full video upgrade, call (212) 262-2820 for a free quote.
See our intercom repair page for common fixes. If your system is due for replacement, read our guide to audio-to-video upgrades.
Queens has many properties with more than one building or several entrances. Those need a plan that covers the whole site:
This approach works for garden co-ops, rental complexes, and condo associations. It also keeps future repairs simple, because every entrance uses the same parts.
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Garden complexes often have several entrances. For those, we usually recommend one system that ties all entrances together. Then tenants and management deal with one app and one directory. The Comelit Ultra Touch works well for this. It can also often reuse existing apartment units. For six-story elevator buildings with many apartments, the Aiphone GT Series is a reliable multi-tenant choice. For two-family homes, a video door station like the Aiphone JP-DV with app access keeps things simple.
Add a Aiphone AC-10S keypad at side and courtyard gates. Also put security cameras at the main entrances.
Prices depend on the building, the number of apartments and entrances, and the condition of the wiring. Most single repairs cost about $250 to $600. For example, these include replacing one apartment unit or fixing a door release. A video intercom for a small building with one entrance typically costs about $4,000 to $5,000 or more. Still, these are average New York prices, not a fixed price list. See our intercom cost guide for more detail, and ask about our no monthly fee systems.
Queens buildings follow New York City’s intercom rules. Class A multiple dwellings built or converted after January 1, 1968, with eight or more apartments need a working intercom. It must also have two-way voice and door release from each apartment. The rule comes from Section 50-a of the New York Multiple Dwelling Law. Next, read our guide to NYC intercom requirements.
We serve all of Queens, including:
If your Queens property sits near a borough line, we cover it too. For example, we cover Ridgewood near Bushwick and Glen Oaks near Nassau County. Just call with the address.
We also serve Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, and Long Island.
Many Queens co-ops and elevator buildings have audio systems that still partly work. You usually have three options:
After an inspection, we’ll quote the options side by side. That way, the board or owner can decide with real numbers.
Neighborhoods like Astoria, Woodside, Ridgewood, and Richmond Hill have many two- and three-family homes. These often have a separate entrance or a shared vestibule. Each unit needs its own button and door release. Ideally, it also has its own monitor or app access. We install video door stations like the Aiphone JP-DV. Then we wire each unit separately, so tenants and owners only answer their own visitors.
Busy lobbies in Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and Flushing see a steady flow of couriers. When tenants can’t answer the buzzer, packages pile up or strangers get buzzed in. So a video intercom with phone access and temporary delivery codes lets tenants handle deliveries from anywhere. Plus, a camera over the package area adds a record of every drop-off.
Queens has busy commercial corridors along Northern Boulevard, Queens Boulevard, Main Street, and Jamaica Avenue. Shops, medical offices, and professional offices use video intercoms to screen visitors before opening the door. They also use keypads like the Aiphone AC-10S keypad for staff entry. We install and repair these systems, and then connect them to cameras at the door.
Garden complexes and multi-building properties often need cameras at every entrance, in courtyards, and in parking areas. First, we plan coverage for the whole property. Then we set up viewing so management can see every building from one app. See our security cameras.
Report the problem to management in writing, with your apartment number and what happens when you use the intercom. Check whether neighbors have the same problem, because that helps the technician find the cause faster. If a broken intercom isn’t repaired, tenants can contact NYC 311.
Yes. We repair and upgrade intercoms in garden co-ops and complexes, including buildings with several separate entrances. Garden complexes spread many small entrances across a campus, so cable runs are long and exposed to weather and landscaping work. Failures often trace back to damaged outdoor cable, water inside an entry panel, or a dead power supply. We find the fault entrance by entrance instead of replacing the whole system.
All of Queens, including Astoria, Long Island City, Jackson Heights, Forest Hills, Flushing, Bayside, Jamaica, Ridgewood, and the Rockaways. The borough mixes prewar elevator buildings, garden co-ops, two-family homes, and newer towers, so the equipment we see changes a lot from one neighborhood to the next. The names listed are examples, not borders, so a smaller neighborhood that is not mentioned is still part of Queens.
Yes. We can connect several entrance panels to one system, so residents use one app and management uses one directory. A resident then answers a visitor at any entrance from the same apartment monitor or phone, and a name changed in the directory updates everywhere. Without that setup, each entrance keeps its own list, and managers end up editing the same tenant names several times whenever someone moves.
Yes. We install video door stations with indoor monitors and app access for each unit in two-family and multi-family homes. Each household gets its own call button, so a visitor for the upstairs apartment does not ring the downstairs one. Most homes need low-voltage cable from the front door to each monitor, plus a power supply. Tenants and owners then control their own calls and do not share a single handset.
Yes. We’ve upgraded intercom and surveillance systems for apartment complexes in Queens, and we work with property managers across the borough. Complexes bring needs that a single building does not: many entrances, shared directories, cameras covering parking and package areas, and residents who still need working buzzers during the project. Managers usually want one plan for the entire property, so we build the upgrade around the layout of the complex.
Yes. If you choose a system that can grow, we can upgrade the main entrance first and add the other entrances later, all tied to the same directory and app. Phasing spreads the cost across more than one budget cycle, which suits co-op boards that need approval for each expense. The catch is planning: the first panel, cabling, and power must be sized for the extra entrances, or later additions mean redoing earlier work.
Yes. We install HD and IP security cameras at entrances, lobbies, package areas, and parking areas, with remote viewing on your phone. Entrance and lobby cameras show who came in, while package-area cameras help settle delivery disputes. IP cameras run over network cable and can share one recorder, and in some buildings HD cameras can reuse older coax cable. Placement matters more than camera count, so lighting and angles come first.
Many Queens co-ops and elevator buildings were built decades ago with audio systems that still partly work, so boards put off replacing them. A replacement needs board approval and a budget line, and a system that rings most apartments rarely feels urgent. When parts run out or complaints grow, an entrance panel upgrade that keeps the existing apartment units is often the most affordable fix.
Most single repairs cost about $250 to $600, and a video intercom for a small building with one entrance typically costs about $4,000 to $5,000 or more. Treat both as average New York figures rather than a fixed price. More entrances, more apartments, and older wiring push the total up. The real number arrives as a written quote after an inspection, because the wiring behind the walls decides much of it.
In many buildings, yes. Our Comelit video intercom works alongside existing intercom units, so you can add video and phone access without rewiring the whole building. Riser wiring inside walls is the costly part of most upgrades, and keeping it avoids opening hallways and apartments. Whether yours qualifies depends on cable condition: sections that are damaged, corroded, or badly spliced may still need replacing even when the apartment units stay.
Not with our Comelit systems, which are a one-time investment with no monthly payment. The one-time price covers the equipment and its installation. Property management software and call-log servers are optional and sold separately. Some app-based intercoms charge a recurring fee per door or per resident, so it is worth asking any vendor exactly what happens to the system if the payments stop.
On Comelit video intercom installs, we offer a 3-year guarantee on Comelit material and a 1-year guarantee on service and labor. For a co-op board or landlord, that means a faulty Comelit part is handled under the longer material term, while a problem with how something was mounted or connected falls under the shorter labor term. Keep the written quote and invoice, since they record what was installed and when.
Call (212) 262-2820 or use the form on this page. Describe the property and the problem, and we’ll schedule an inspection. Helpful details are the number of apartments, how many entrances there are, the intercom brand if you know it, and whether the building is a co-op, condo, or rental. The price follows in writing after the walk-through, so nothing is estimated blindly over the phone.