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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
However, critics remain skeptical.
“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.”
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.
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.
Michael 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.”
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.”
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.
