What is Parkchester?
Parkchester is a 129 acre condominium complex in the Bronx. It was developed and built by Metropolitan Life Insurance in 1939 as a self-contained apartment complex for middle class families. Family was the key word and concept and was paramount in its design. In 1972 a conversion to condominiums began with the creation of Parkchester North Condominium with 3,900 units. The process was completed in 1986 with the final 8,286 units that comprise Parkchester South. Walking along its winding sidewalks amidst shrubbery and occasional statuary is a delight, but driving through Parkchester is a nightmare. But this is the way it was meant to be.
To minimize traffic there are only two through streets, Union port Road, running from the northwest corner to the southeast, and Metropolitan Avenue, from southwest to northeast. They form an X, crossing at Metropolitan oval a landscaped seating plaza with pool of fountains in the very center All cars are required to navigate the roundabout that encircles it, effectively keeping the speed low. Met Life built these roads, as well as the sewers, water mains, and islands lining them, and when construction was completed to its satisfaction, deeded them all to New York City.
There are no real side streets in the sense of actually going anywhere. All offshoots of the main two roads are dead ends, provided solely for the purpose of deliveries and residents’ parking. In keeping with the desire to keep this a family -comfortable community, 52.5% of the 129 acres is given over to landscaping and recreation; of the remainder, 22% comprise streets, and 27.5% is occupied by buildings.
There are 171 buildings scattered throughout, in fifty one clusters, ranging in height from seven to thirteen stories. These buildings house 12,271 apartments. As if that didn’t constitute a city in itself, there are also one hundred shopping and commercial spaces. Residents can walk to two supermarkets, several pizzerias, bakeries, and delis, two banks, numerous clothing stores, two drug stores, cleaners, a movie theater and doctors and dentists of all specialties. Parkchester even has its own Macy’s! So now that you know what Parkchester is……
Why is Kintronics so interested?
Naturally we were appalled and sorry that the attack on an elderly man had occurred, but glad we could have had a part, no matter how miniscule, in the apprehension of the attacker. For You see, the police identified the perpetrator thanks to video captured by an Axis 207 IP cameras mounted in the front lobby of a building on Unionport Road and saved on a computer system using ONSSI software.
Kintronics provided consulting services to Parkchester South and its 116 buildings. We helped make sure we understood their objectives and helped determine which cameras were best for each location resulting in the installation of hundreds of IP cameras in building lobbies, outdoor spaces, and special areas requiring increased surveillance.
Security surveillance is not limited only to the grounds. Within the buildings elevators are being fitted with an alarm notification system consisting of alarms, two way intercoms to the safety officer’s station and cameras to allow the officers to evaluate the situation and react appropriately. The project is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2012
In many ways, the world has become a much scarier place than it was in 1939 but with the help of the comprehensive security system Parkchester is installing it can continue to be a place that offers a serene setting for its third generation of families.
To learn more about how to provide security and surveillance using IP Cameras, conact us at 914-944-3425 or use our contact form.
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Recently R University approached Kintronics requesting assistance in a new project. The goal of the project was to provide a complete paging system to notify students of emergency situations. A special committee of faculty and staff were tasked with finding a solution that would not only notify students of emergency situations, but also exploit the existing network infrastructure. By using the existing infrastructure they were able to deploy the systems quickly and reduce the labor costs. Since the PA over IP system is treated like any other network with a set of peripheral devices, the in-house IT staff could install and operate the system. This eliminated the need to hire independent installers to install cables and other devices throughout the buildings. Kintronics provided a solution that met their criteria. In what follows is a description of the methodology that we used to develop a system unique to their needs.
Our first task was to clarify exactly what the school wanted to accomplish. Did they want the faculty and students to hear the announcement in the halls, in the classrooms, dorm rooms, outdoor areas, etc? This allowed us to determine where the people (the “ears”) would be. They clarified the need for hearing the announcements mostly in the hallways and common areas and in some outdoor areas as well.
Workforce productivity is important to business success. Cameras help to keep people productive and on their best behavior. The cameras can help management monitor and correct work procedures. 
remote sites, you can use IP video cameras to remotely make the visit. In this application you can select IP cameras with two-way audio so you can talk to the people as well as see what’s going on. You probably won’t require very high resolution for this application but you may need to add a microphone and speaker to your remote camera. 
It’s an annoying fact that there are many false alarms from detectors that can be triggered by animals or even the wind blowing a curtain. When you get awakened in the middle of the night it would be great to just go to your computer and look at the store or office to see if anything is going on. Then you can go back to sleep.
The P-Iris works with the electronics of the IP camera. It not only adjusts the iris, it also adjusts the gain (amplification of the signal level) and exposure time. This allows it to manage slight changes in lighting conditions and to further optimize an image. This allows the optimal iris position to be maintained as long as possible. In situations when the preferred iris position and the camera’s electronic processing capabilities cannot adequately correct the exposure, a P-Iris camera will automatically instruct the iris to move to a different position. In dark conditions, for example, the iris will fully open. In bright situations, a camera with P-Iris is programmed to limit the closing of the iris to a position that avoids diffraction or blurring, as explained earlier. Hence, in all lighting conditions, P-Iris can automatically make adjustments to deliver optimal image quality.
The dynamic range of a camera is a measure of the minimum and maximum light the camera can see in one frame. Wide dynamic range is helpful when you are looking at a person against a very bright background. 
The Nite Track IP camera is a special PTZ camera that includes an IR illuminator. This system allows you to see in total darkness over 600 ft from the camera. It is a very effective covert camera system because people can’t see the IR illumination at night. The illuminator can be adjusted to see exactly the area you want to see. Take a look at the 
When you need a camera system that can watch almost everywhere at once, take a look at the 
NVR system all in a covert box. This box also includes battery backup so that it will operate even if someone cuts the power. The system looks like an electrical box. It has room for a number of different cameras that include the IQ752 camera. With this megapixel camera you get enough resolution to identify a person’s face in an area that’s about 48 ft wide. It can see even when there’s very little light, with sensitivity of less than 0.05 lux. The battery backup allows the system to operate for hours without power. The camera has a CF memory card slot so you can add on board storage that can record many hours of video. This complete solution allows you to place a camera in new locations that were historically not available by IP cameras systems.