Magnetic locks, key locksets, push bars and buzzers: what HPD inspectors look for at a building entrance, why a week is not enough to replace a door, and what a new one costs.
The short version. HPD inspectors are writing up building entrance doors that are held by a magnetic lock or that have no proper lockset. The door has to lock mechanically, open from inside by hand, release from the intercom and close by itself. A notice typically gives about a week to correct it; replacing a door takes two to three weeks at the least. A single aluminum entrance door, with or without a sidelite, costs about $4,000 to $5,000 installed, including removal of the old one; a double door is about $8,000 to $9,000.
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) enforces the Housing Maintenance Code in residential buildings. Its inspectors go from building to building, and the entrance is one of the first things they check, because it is both the security of the building and the way out of it.
A recent notice we were called about, at an apartment building in Astoria, Queens, lists two Class C violations on the vestibule door: “provide heavy duty key operated lockset” and “remove the illegal fastening electro magnetic locking device”. Class C is HPD’s most serious class. The full story is in our Office News case study.
This is a summary of what we are asked to build, not legal advice. Your notice states exactly what has to be corrected, and your managing agent, architect or attorney can confirm what applies to your building.
A magnetic lock holds a door shut with an electromagnet. Nothing latches. The door opens only when a button, a sensor or the intercom cuts the power to the magnet. If that release fails, the people inside cannot get out by pushing the door, and that is why the notice calls it an illegal fastening.
An electric strike works the other way round. The door is held by an ordinary mechanical latch. Electricity only frees the strike so that a visitor can pull the door open. From inside, the push bar draws the latch back by hand whether there is power or not.
The notice in our case study was reported on 14 July with a correct-by date of 23 July: nine days. Owners tell us five to seven days is common. A lock can sometimes be changed in that time. A door cannot.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Survey | The opening is measured, the intercom and wiring are checked, and photographs are taken. |
| Proposal and drawing | You approve the door, the hardware and the finish. |
| Fabrication | The frame and door are cut and assembled, the safety glass is ordered to size, and the door is prepared for its hardware. |
| Installation | The old door comes out, the new one goes in, and the electric strike is connected to the intercom. Usually one day for a single door. |
From approval to installation is two to three weeks at the least, and longer for a custom color or special glass. So act on the day the notice arrives: call a door company, get the survey done and a signed proposal with a schedule, and ask HPD or your managing agent what can be done about the dates while the work is in hand.
For a single aluminum storefront entrance door, with or without a sidelite, our price is about $4,000 to $5,000, supplied and installed. That includes:
A double entrance door (a pair of doors) with medium-stile doors is about $8,000 to $9,000, on the same basis.
What can add to it:
These figures are a guide as of October 2026. Material and supply costs are volatile in today’s market, so please contact our office at 929-235-1233 for the most recent prices for storefront entrances. A firm price follows a survey.
Yes, by a few hundred dollars, with a narrow-stile door in place of a medium-stile one. We strongly recommend the medium stile. A building entrance is opened hundreds of times a day, and the wider stile gives the door and its hardware a longer life. See narrow, medium and wide stile compared.
HPD publishes a short guide for property owners, “Close the Door to Stop a Fire from Spreading”. It says that apartment doors and hallway doors are required by law to swing closed and latch by themselves, that all residential buildings with three or more apartments must have self-closing doors, and that owners should check them periodically and make repairs promptly. Its test is simple:
The guide also asks owners to keep all exits clear, including building entrance doors. You can download HPD’s guide (PDF) from our Technical Library or read it on HPD’s self-closing doors page.
Walk to your own entrance and check it the way an inspector would:
If any answer is no, the work can be scheduled on your timetable, at a normal price, instead of against a nine-day deadline. Many problems are an adjustment or a hardware change; see storefront and door repair. Where the door has to be replaced, see building entrance doors and storefront doors.
A single aluminum storefront entrance door, with or without a sidelite, costs about $4,000 to $5,000 supplied and installed, including removal of the old door, a push bar, a lockset, an electric strike for the intercom and a closer, in clear or bronze anodized finish. A double entrance door with medium-stile doors is about $8,000 to $9,000. Manhattan congestion tolls, same-day debris pick-up and custom colors are extra. Supply costs change, so contact our office for current prices.
A magnetic lock holds the door only with electrical power and has no mechanical latch. If its release fails, people inside may not be able to open the door by hand. HPD notices describe it as an illegal fastening and ask for it to be removed and a key-operated lockset provided.
Two to three weeks at the least from approval: survey, drawing, fabrication to the opening, safety glass, installation and connection to the intercom. Custom colors and special glass take longer.
A mechanical latch with a key-operated lockset, a push bar or handle that opens the door from inside by hand, an electric strike released by the intercom, and a closer so the door shuts and locks by itself.
Yes, by a few hundred dollars. A medium-stile door is recommended for a building entrance because it lasts longer under heavy daily use.
Case Study: HPD Violation, Astoria Building Entrance Doors Storefront Doors Storefront Repair Commercial Door Design How to Buy a New Storefront All News
About this page. Written by Alex GC Inc. d/b/a Alex Glass Construction and reviewed before publication by Aleksandr Chernovolenko, Managing Partner, with our design and estimating lead and a field foreman. Our foremen hold the NYC DOB Site Safety Training supervisor card and our crews the 40-hour worker card; we are certified to fabricate, install and service Alutech and Everest aluminum systems. Facts are drawn from our own projects, manufacturer test data and the applicable codes; where we are giving an opinion, we say so. Last reviewed September 2026. Credentials
Send a photograph of the notice and of the door from inside and outside. We will tell you what it takes to correct it, how long, and what it costs.
