[Build] Landlord

[Andy Isaacson]

On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 02:52:20PM -0700, Dr. Jesus wrote:
> The gate needs to be modified so that pushing hard on it doesn't cause
> it to pop open.  Either he can do it or I can do it.

This sounds like a great idea.  I would assume that the landlords are
not going to do it, so we should plan on doing it.  Given that the gate
is inherently not secure against climbing over, I am a bit loathe to put
too much effort into it.

I'm pretty sure they'd prefer to stick with keys than go to prox cards.
We should add a prox card reader and improve the striker -- preserving
the existing keying if at all possible -- rather than building a
proxcard-only system.

Would it be possible to add a separate cylinder lock keyed to the 83c
key that activates the electronic strike?  That would remove one of the
necessary keys for NB access.  I'm envisioning a small box mounted on
the wall, into which I stick my NB key and turn to activate a switch.

> Modifying the front door is not a hard requirement for me like the
> gate is, but key management will be a little more complicated without
> doing so.  I'm trying to simplify access control down either to one
> key or one prox card for all members, and if the glass doors continue
> to use the existing tumblers then I can't do that.  I need to
> understand the key management impact to select one of the available
> options, which are: do nothing and we use two keys, swap out their
> keys for prox cards ($1.80 each if we pay), or swap out their keys for
> our keys ($0.75ish each if we pay).

Seems to me the existing glass-door key system is suboptimal.  Can we
replace it with something cost-effective and equally secure that would
enable prox card access?  Ideally preserving some form of key access for
the other tenants, but if that's not feasible we could raise the
possibilty of providing prox cards to other tenants.

> > * how this will affect the 2nd floor tenants
> 
> Out of all the above options, the only solution to the requirements
> which doesn't involve them at all is changing the gate or the gate's
> striker and not modifying the glass doors.

We can involve other tenants.  We shouldn't expect them to lay out a ton
of money on our project, though.  Ideally the solution will come at zero
up-front cost to the other tenants -- yes, this means we comp them prox
cards for their existing keyholders if we go to a prox-card-required
system -- and low ongoing expenditures.  Keys are a well-understood
system with bounded costs, which is a compelling feature for a low-end
merchant.

> > * what we need the landlord to do, if anything
> 
> Help us understand the key management impact to him and our downstairs
> neighbors if we change the locks, and whether he's open to doing that
> in the first place.

I have the impression that ~20 employees of the 2nd floor tenant have
keys to the gate.  It was my impression that only some (maybe only the
manager?) have keys to the glass doors.

The first-floor tenant also has access to the lobby mailbox.

> > * why they should let us do it (hopefully this is something like, "it'll
> > be a lot more secure and you don't have to do any of the work")
> 
> If he's open to changing the keys at all, and prox cards are suitable
> replacements, then he gains the following benefits over regular locks:
> 
>  - Log when his users come in (but not out) if he wants to.
> 
>  - Remote key disable.
> 
>  - Very minor increase in property value if he chips in for any of
> this.  Otherwise, it's our property.

If we build this, even if we pay for it, it becomes a building
improvement and we leave it in place when we leave.  That's just basic
tenant relations as well as good business sense -- if we were to assert
ownership of the access control, the landlords would have a strong
disincentive to approve the project.

This also means that whatever we build should have a subset that is
industry standard.  We can add on AnonAccess --
http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/attachments/989_anonaccess.pdf
https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/AccessSystem
-- if we want, or whatever other additional systems we choose, but there
should be something that a commodity locksmith will recognize and be
able to fix after Noisebridge enters the Singularity and is bodily
uplifted in the Rapture of the Nerds.

-andy