The world’s most famous skyscraper has more than 10,000 tenants and more than 3 million visitors passing annually through its Art Deco lobby visiting its 102 floors and famous observation tower.
It is also a high security target that requires the most advanced systems possible to protect the infrastructure, its inhabitants and the city at large.
Security Management Systems was contracted to implement an advanced enterprise security plan for this iconic building.
SMS constructed a new, 300-square-foot security control room. The seven bay consoles in the Security Control Room are equipped with 17 monitors that utilize redundant access control and digital recording workstations. To facilitate this and future expansions, a multi-mode fiber backbone was designed and installed from the security control room to the 102nd floor. The system architecture is designed to support the existing card access and camera locations as well as additional access control and cameras in selected elevators. The video surveillance system encompasses 162 cameras, which are recorded on 12 digital recorders with remote viewing capabilities.
For access control, SMS originally deployed 27 turnstiles and eight special access gates and 26 cameras for enhanced lobby security and surveillance. The existing card access control system was updated to accommodate lobby turnstiles and gates.
Today, the Empire State Building may no longer be the world’s largest, but ranks among the top as the world’s safest.
