Best of the Best: Mamma MiMa! N.Y. Project Steals the Show
One of the best productions in New York took place off Broadway in 2011 when integrator ESCC wrapped up a security and communications solution for Manhattan’s MiMa complex. Seamlessly bringing together IP video, access and elevator control, and telecom and intercom systems to garner Integrated Installation of the Year kudos, it’s no wonder the client is shouting, “Encore! Encore!”
The 63-story, mixed-use MiMa and YOTEL New York complex is shown under construction.
Legend has it Swiss folk hero William Tell was pardoned from the execution of himself and his son by shooting an apple off the top of his son’s head with a crossbow. Shift forward several centuries later and travel across the Atlantic where systems integrator Electronic Security and Communications Corp. (ESCC) has pulled off nearly as legendary a feat by striking a bull’s-eye in the Big Apple’s core.
In a massive undertaking that entailed years of planning/designing/installing and hundreds of man-hours, ESCC integrated security and communications systems for MiMa, a 63-story glass tower housing 814 residential units and adjoining 28-story YOTEL New York, a futuristic hotel with 300 rooms. The impressive project set in the heart of Manhattan has been saluted with SSI’s 2012 Integrated Installation of the Year award.
Launched in 2002, the Integrated Installation of the Year program judges entries based on innovation; systems design; integration of at least three electronic systems; seamlessness of installation; uniqueness of application; and end-user satisfaction. Other extraordinary and deserving finalists this year were Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) of Milwaukee, Protection 1 of Romeoville, N.Y., and Stanley Convergent Security Solutions (CSS) of Naperville, Ill.
The MiMa and YOTEL solutions included IP video, access control, a PBX phone system for back-of-house communications, floor-by-floor elevator control, and building intercom. ESCC also furnished and terminated telecommunications and data cabling for all of the apartments, as well as installed the extensive fiber backbone that carries all system information and cable services.
Integrator Offers Turnkey Service
Founded in 1986, ESCC’s 45 employees provide commercial security, video surveillance, access control, telecom and intercom systems and services from headquarters located in Manhattan and branch office in Armonk. In particular, the firm specializes in seamlessly integrating together even the most seemingly disparate systems.
“Through a powerful combination of equipment installation, customer support, service and reliability, ESCC creates a fluid partnership between technological application and custom-designed solutions for our customers’ individual needs,” says company President Robert Horowitz. “Anyone can plug in a phone system, set up intercoms, install cameras, provide a form of access control or sell a security system. What ESCC offers is an integrated package of technology, solutions, service and support.”
The firm’s turnkey approach includes: system consultants to assess client needs and prepare in-depth proposals; design staff to draw up detailed plans for installation; project managers and installation personnel to coordinate and bring the solution to life; management consultants to train end users on system operations; and service consultants to make sure systems render long-term results.
“Our commitment is to get clients connected and communicating, to put them in control and keep them protected 24/7,” says Horowitz. “We do this by providing unsurpassed comprehensive service — from system conception through system inception. And we do this by understanding the connection between communications and security.”
That attitude and expertise contributed to management and stakeholders of MiMa and YOTEL entrusting ESCC to deliver the highest standard of security systems and communications infrastructure.
Solutions Include 176 Cameras
Designed by Miami-based architectural firm Arquitectonica and developed by The Related Companies, the mixed-use MiMa (Middle of Manhattan) is located in what is known as the “Hell’s Kitchen” neighborhood. The complex has 43 floors of luxury rentals on floors 7-50, 12 floors of condominiums on floors 51-63, plus the YOTEL hotel.
MiMa residents enjoy amenities that include a private health club, outdoor movie theatre, and Dog City, a dog run and pet spa. MiMA is also one of the first buildings to have a distributed antenna system to improve cellphone service and reception throughout the facility.
ESCC was contracted for both residential and hotel systems and services, finalizing the highly sophisticated solution in 2011 on time to support the property’s reputation as one of New York City’s newest and finest recent constructions.
Further details of MiMa’s solution include 109 IP video cameras, access control on 149 building doors and floor-by-floor elevator control with 368 relays. At YOTEL N.Y., ESCC worked from a third-party design to supply onsite consulting and install an integrated system comprised of 67 IP video cameras, a standalone ID badging station, and a five-station intercom system where four are audio-only and one audio/video.
Brands and devices deployed included: Altronix power supplies; American Dynamics cameras; Axis Communications encoders; Exacq Technologies NVRs; Panasonic IP-PBX system; Recognition Systems hand readers; Schlage computer-managed locks; Software House access control panels and software; and Trigon intercoms.
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About the Author
Scott Goldfine, Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher
Scott Goldfine is Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher of Security Sales & Integration. Well-versed in the technical and business aspects of electronic security (video surveillance, access control, systems integration, intrusion detection, fire/life safety), Goldfine is nationally recognized as an industry expert and speaker. Goldfine is involved in several security events and organizations, including the Electronic Security Association (ESA), Security Industry Association (SIA), Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC), False Alarm Reduction Association (FARA), ASIS Int'l and more. Goldfine also serves on several boards, including the SIA Marketing Committee, CSAA Marketing and Communications Committee, PSA Cybersecurity Advisory Council and Robolliance. He is a certified alarm technician, former cable-TV tech, audio company entrepreneur, and lifelong electronics and computers enthusiast. Goldfine joined Security Sales & Integration in 1998.
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