Commercial Locksmith in Newark, NJ

Newark storefronts and the gate rule

Section 18:12-5.1 of Newark's Nonresidential Property Maintenance Code sets two rules that shape how a storefront is secured. They apply citywide, including on Ferry Street, the Ironbound's main commercial strip.

• Gates must be see-through. A security gate over a storefront window or door must be a grate or lattice type with 100 percent mesh or see-through composition. A solid shutter does not qualify, so gate locks, padlock hasps and bottom-rail locks need to suit a mesh or lattice gate.
• Front and rear doors. Commercial establishments must keep an exterior door at both the front and rear entrances. A rear door, often out of sight of the street, needs the same care as the front: a sound lock, a strike set into solid framing and a latch that closes fully every time.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Apartment buildings run as businesses

Newark's high-rise apartment buildings, such as the towers on Elizabeth Avenue in Weequahic, carry the key problems of a commercial property:

• Under Housing Code Section 18:3-1.58, a building with more than 10 units must give visitors a way to signal each unit from the front exterior, such as a doorbell or intercom. It sits alongside lobby door hardware rather than replacing it.
• Under N.J.A.C. 5:10-19.2, openable windows and sliding doors in multiple dwellings need a locking device, so include them in any lock check.

Key control on a two-door storefront

Turnover is where key control tends to slip, and a storefront with a required front and rear door has two entrances to track. Each departing employee, contractor or storefront tenant can leave behind copies nobody counted.

• Keep a written list of who holds which key, including the gate lock and the rear door, and collect keys when a job or lease ends.
• Rekey doors a former keyholder could open rather than trusting a returned key.
• With many doors, a master key system lets managers open everything while staff keys open only their own areas.

In a request, give the business or building address, the door types (storefront glass, rear door, gate or lobby entrance), how many people hold keys, and whether you want rekeying or new hardware. See commercial locksmith, lock rekeying and the Newark page.