"Magic Key" Opens Elevators Too

Well, this is great: once those "magic key" holders get into the subway for free, they can take it all the way to your office building and unlock your elevator! They could be coming for you RIGHT NOW! The key, which has been sold for just $27 and can open 468 subway stations, works in "tens of thousands of buildings" with elevators, including every single commercial high-rise. City Councilman Peter Vallone said he was even more concerned about the key upon learning this. "We know terrorists are planning attacks on our subways and buildings, and we don't need to have keys that could help them in the wrong hands."

However, FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon says it's not as bad as it sounds. The key allegedly triggers an alarm when used on an elevator system, and it requires training to know how to operate the elevators individually. Replacing and reassigning the key and changing the locks on 1,412 gates could cost the city $1 million, and NYC Transit will talk to the NYPD and MTA police before making that move. Currently, the MTA is losing about $27 million a year to fare beaters like those using the key to sneak into the subways.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jaya Saxena in News on April 27, 2010 4:59 PM

Comments [rss]

wow 14th street

I so remember a rogue superintendent selling

an elevator key to his favorite tenants for a fee that

allowed your elevator to bypass all the floors so

that you got an express ride to your apt.

Think2wice

It must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom.

chrysler5thavenue

Is everything about terrorists to these people?

Spirit of 76

John Del Signore may be annoyingly snarky about everything, but at least he's not an alarmist idiot like Jaya Saxena seems to be. Saxena is almost as stupid as Peter Vallone. Neither of them seems to know what a fire service key does. Ask any firefighter. It doesn't get you to private floors. 99.9999999% of NYers don't live or work on private floors which need a key to get to anyway. What the key does is recall all elevators to the lobby and keep them there, which is used by the fire department or building management to keep people from using the elevators to try to escape and risking getting trapped inside if there's an actual fire and power is lost. Ever see the signs that say to use stairs rather than elevators in case of fire?

sam_the_damned

that's not entirely true... fireman's keys allow firefighting personnel to operate the elevator as well, making all the buttons outside the elevator inoperable, yielding control to the person inside the elevator car

Spirit of 76

How exactly would that allow them to "unlock your elevator" as Saxena blares with an exclamation point? Is your elevator locked right now? Is it some amazing security device that keeps unauthorized personnel from going to your apartment or office door? Maybe if you live or work in the Baxter Building. So what if some "terrorist" took control of the elevators and kept them in the lobby or took a joyride in one so you couldn't come down? Repeat after me: In the event of fire, you're supposed to take the stairs!

This is scaremongering for the sake of page views. At best, it's sheer ignorance. At worst, it's intentional disinformation.