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NYC’S $43M PLAN TO INSTALL DOOR-LOCKING SYSTEM IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS MARRED BY
‘MISHAPS,’ DELAYS

By Rich Calder

Published April 20, 2024, 4:58 p.m. ET

 

The city Department of Education’s plan to install remote door-locking systems
in all public schools is well behind schedule – and critics say poor planning is
to blame.

The DOE last year awarded Long Island-based Symbrant Technologies a $42.6
million contract to develop and install locking systems with cameras, intercoms
and buzzers at the main entrances of more than 1,300 school buildings — with the
city’s 700 elementary schools to be completed by spring 2024.

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Less than 200 schools were completed as of last month, sources told The Post, as
workers initially struggled to ensure first responders could still get in during
emergencies.

4
DOE security chief Mark Rampersant, second from right, has come under fire from
some critics who say the DOE would have been better off buying and installing
existing door-locking systems.

While that issue was resolved, others soon popped up — and many of the
already-installed systems, which resemble video doorbells, are experiencing
serious kinks, the sources added. They include doors that won’t unlock unless
opened manually, communication systems which switch from English to other
languages on their own, and an inability to rotate outside cameras up and down
to view visitors who might be too short or too tall.

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The contract was amended and extended to Oct. 29 and will pay Symbrant another
$7.3 million for the “servicing and repair” of DOE security systems, according
to records reviewed by The Post.

However, DOE confirmed it recently replaced Symbrant with NTT DATA, adding it is
on pace to complete the work at elementary schools by this summer and other
schools by end of this year. The DOE said 329 schools had the new systems as of
Friday, and an additional 95 jobs at other schools are in progress.

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Mayor Eric Adams budgeted $78 million for the overall project, and DOE said the
switch to NTT wouldn’t lead to additional costs to taxpayers.

4
The DOE’s push to install automatic door locks was fueled by the 2022 mass
shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and
two teachers dead. Getty Images

However, critics remain skeptical.

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“We were supposed to have ours by the end of December, but they finished it last
month – and it doesn’t even work properly, which is the real kicker,” fumed a
Brooklyn principal, adding his school safety agents still have to open and lock
the doors manually because the automatic-lock button malfunctions.

DOE security chief Mark Rampersant and other agency honchos should have simply
purchased existing door-locking equipment and other tech for city schools rather
than hire Symbrant to build a new system from scratch, said another source.

“They’re trying to set this up on the fly and build the technology on the fly,”
he said. “It makes no sense, and it’s causing problems.”

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City officials began to seriously consider automatically bolting the main
entryways after a May 2022 mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde,
Texas, killed 19 students and two teachers.

4
Robert Quintana, principal of PS 28 in Queens, wrestled a school intruder to the
floor. Courtesy of PS 28

The door-locking system was first rolled out as a successful pilot program at PS
28 in Queens, in response to a crazed intruder barging into the elementary
school’s open front door in September 2022. The unarmed, but combative, intruder
initially fought off a school safety agency, but the school’s jiu-jitsu-trained
principal Robert Quintana ultimately wrestled him to the ground.

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Matthew Crescio, a member of Community Education Council for District 24 in
Queens, said he pushed for the citywide door-locking systems after the incident
at PS 28 and is unhappy with the progress.

“We were promised implementation within a year,” he said. “The lack of
completion of this project makes me and other parents lose faith in NYC
Schools.”

4
Queens Councilman Robert Holden ripped the project delays, saying “our kids and
school staff can’t wait.” instagram/bobholdennyc/

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What do you think? Post a comment.

Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) also ripped the delays, saying the “school
security upgrades were needed yesterday!”

“The DOE needs to cut through the bureaucracy and act with urgency,” he said.
“Our kids and school staff can’t wait.”

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Symbrant did not return messages, but DOE spokesperson Jenna Lyle said a
“dedicated help desk” has been set up to assist schools when issues pop up with
the new tech and assistance is provided within 24 hours.

“The Safer Access initiative is a clear example of how we are listening to our
families and continuing to take steps to prioritize student safety and parent
peace of mind,” Lyle said.


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Filed under contracts ,  delays ,  department of education ,  lockdown ,  public
schools ,  security ,  4/20/24
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