“The security system we designed for 1400 on Fifth uses the latest in new CCTV over IP technology, setting a new trend for residential buildings in New York,” declared Maria Gonzalez, vice president of Nortronics Corp., Fairview N.J. She maintained the 225,000-square-foot, eight-story building “is way ahead of any other in security technology.

“When the developers came to us a few years back, they said, `We want to do the first green and smart building in New York City, and we want to design a state-of-the-art system for it,’” Gonzalez recalled. “Security is key, and I believe it plays a key selling point for buyers in this area.”

At the time the project was proposed, digital video recorders (DVRs) were the latest technology and were specified for the building, but when networking technology became available, Nortronics suggested it.

“We felt comfortable with this technology, and we said it would be a perfect fit for the building,” Gonzalez related. “So we approached the developers, and they saw it was the future, and the way to go, and were very welcoming of the new technology. They see the results already, they see what the capabilities are, and they’re very happy.”

Added Jude Alibey, vice president of central operations for Full Spectrum, the building’s developer, “We didn’t want to offer anything less. Nortronics showed that the most advanced and effective technology was also the most cost-effective in the short and long terms.”

1400 on Fifth was outfitted with Nortronics’ NetImage XSO, a CCTV system whose elements communicate via Internet protocol. It is so new that it has not yet been deployed for residential use anywhere else in New York.

“With NetImage XSO, we’ve created a platform, and what we do is we integrate and take parts from manufacturers and customize them depending on what our client needs,” she explained. “NetImage XSO is a platform that can hold as much or as little of security over IP as the client needs.”

In total, the company installed seven indoor and seven outdoor cameras, covering the lobby, all entrances, public corridors, the parking garage, stairs, the courtyard and the building’s perimeters along Fifth Ave., 115th and 116th Sts. Three servers throughout the building store video from different cameras.

“The beauty of Internet protocol is that it has none of the limitations of a closed system, which usually lock end-users into a specific number of cameras, hard drive recording space, and even a specific manufacturer’s product line, a single-service provider,” Gonzalez pointed out. “This system is open architecture.”

Residents can monitor and control some of the cameras from their personal computers. For example, a building resident in her apartment on the sixth floor can check on her child playing in the courtyard. Management even can add additional IP network cameras to the system that connect with the NetImage XSO via a wireless router.

Nortronics incorporates the products of many different companies in the systems it designs. The CCTV system includes hardware from Panasonic, Sony and Dell, among other companies. Switchers and routers are from NetGear, Santa Clara, Calif., and the CCTV over IP system’s software is by On-Net Surveillance Systems Inc. (ONSSI), Suffern, N.Y., Gonzalez listed.

The security system allows residents to digitally store high-quality video on a network, easily search video clips of an event with authorities and use digital wireless technology for security throughout the building.

This system also gives staff members the ability to monitor and control it remotely, control access to the garage with EZ-Pass-style openers and allow easy expansion and maintenance of the system.

The building is among the first in New York City with new talk-down telephone-access intercoms. With it, residents can call and talk to the doorman by dialing just two digits on their home telephone. This is an innovation that building managers have been requesting for decades that replaces single-purpose, dedicated intercom systems.

Because the building is not staffed with a 24-hour doorman, residents gain access to the main entrance and common areas such as the playroom and business center with proximity cards like those used in many offices.

The building’s garage gates are managed by an access control system from DoorKing, which has a dedicated personal computer that functions as its brain. This lets the building track which openers are used when and easily deactivate openers if they are stolen or residents move.

This $40-million building has reserved two-thirds of its 160 apartments for buyers who meet income limits. The building’s “green” features include superior indoor air quality thanks to a special air filtration device that minimizes small airborne particles and energy-efficient appliances.

The building’s “smart” features include high-speed broadband Internet service, a building-wide local area network (LAN), video conferencing and Internet-based telephone service for residents.

The business center includes networked printers, copiers and three conference rooms. Washing machines on each floor are connected to the internal LAN so tenants can check on their availability from their desktop computers.

A building-wide digital network, a leading-edge technology for multitenant buildings, connects each resident to the concierge, the building superintendent and onsite retail tenant service providers. A sister building to 1400 on Fifth is already in the planning stage.

Nortronics provides clients with network-based CCTV systems, as well as access control, alarm, CCTV, intercom, biometrics, telephone access and master antenna systems.

“Network-based is the new technology we see as the future in a lot of instances,” Gonzalez predicted. “That is what we’re recommending today, but we’ve been in business for 40 years, so we service everything we’ve installed in the last 40 years. We’re still servicing and maintaining our existing customers.”