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Possibly. Though the apartments I’ve been in that have elevators that open directly into the unit here in NYC have had doormen at the front entrance. Generally

Possibly. Though the apartments I’ve been in that have elevators that open directly into the unit here in NYC have had doormen at the front entrance. Generally if you’re rich enough for that sort of setup the building is rich enough for a doorman (I’m sure there are exceptions though).

Alex3917 6y ago
> Generally if you’re rich enough for that sort of setup the building is rich enough for a doorman That's true for newer buildings that are purposely built to be luxury apartment buildings. But if you're living in a building that used to be an office building or a factory then it's not necessarily going to have a doorman. This applies to a lot of the old industrial buildings in SoHo, Chelsea, the meatpacking district, Union Square, etc. It's basically impossible to change where the elevator shaft of a building is after it's been built, because it's part of the structural support system of the building, so you can't just move everything around to add a lobby and front desk to the ground floor after the fact.
- mtalantikite 6y ago
  For sure, there are exceptions. A friend of mine is in one of those old SoHo buildings that was converted to luxury apartments, and the doorman in the lobby is basically just at a desk someone threw into the corner of the entrance since there is no room for anything else.
nihonde 6y ago
That’s putting a lot of trust in the doorman. Having lived in doorman buildings in Manhattan for a long time, I definitely considered the building staff as much (or more) of a security risk as any outsiders.
dialamac 6y ago
There’s plenty of newer “boutique” buildings in Manhattan/Brooklyn with the elevator direct to apartment without a doorman. It’s not necessarily more expensive to do it this way if you think about it. You don’t need a lobby or halls on each floor for one.
- mtalantikite 6y ago
  Good point. It would make me super uncomfortable to have random people that haven’t gone through security ride with me essentially into my home. Not that I’m even the type of person that would want to live in these silly luxury buildings though.

Alex3917 6y ago

> Generally if you’re rich enough for that sort of setup the building is rich enough for a doorman That's true for newer buildings that are purposely built to be luxury apartment buildings. But if you're living in a building that used to be an office building or a factory then it's not necessarily going to have a doorman. This applies to a lot of the old industrial buildings in SoHo, Chelsea, the meatpacking district, Union Square, etc. It's basically impossible to change where the elevator shaft of a building is after it's been built, because it's part of the structural support system of the building, so you can't just move everything around to add a lobby and front desk to the ground floor after the fact.

mtalantikite 6y ago
For sure, there are exceptions. A friend of mine is in one of those old SoHo buildings that was converted to luxury apartments, and the doorman in the lobby is basically just at a desk someone threw into the corner of the entrance since there is no room for anything else.

nihonde 6y ago

That’s putting a lot of trust in the doorman. Having lived in doorman buildings in Manhattan for a long time, I definitely considered the building staff as much (or more) of a security risk as any outsiders.

dialamac 6y ago

There’s plenty of newer “boutique” buildings in Manhattan/Brooklyn with the elevator direct to apartment without a doorman. It’s not necessarily more expensive to do it this way if you think about it. You don’t need a lobby or halls on each floor for one.

mtalantikite 6y ago
Good point. It would make me super uncomfortable to have random people that haven’t gone through security ride with me essentially into my home. Not that I’m even the type of person that would want to live in these silly luxury buildings though.