If you are locked out, try every door you are allowed to use, call your super or landlord, and then call a locksmith with your exact address.
Nobody plans to be locked out. It happens when you run down for the laundry, step onto the stoop for a delivery, or come up from the G train and reach for keys that are still on the kitchen table. Here is what we tell people who call us from a doorstep in Greenpoint.
What should I check before calling anyone?
Try every door you have a right to use: the back door, a side entrance, the yard gate. If you live with someone, call them. If a neighbor or a friend nearby holds a spare, now is the moment. Do not climb a fire escape or try a window you cannot reach with both feet on something solid. A lockout is a bad hour. A fall is a bad year.
Should I call my super or my landlord?
If your building has a super, call them first. Many landlords keep a key for each apartment. If they cannot help, or you live in a frame house or a walk-up without staff, call a locksmith.
What should I tell the locksmith?
- Your exact address, with the apartment number and the cross street.
- Which door you are locked out of: the building door, the apartment door, or both.
- What kind of lock is on it, if you know. A deadbolt, a knob lock, or an old mortise lock.
- Whether a key broke off inside.
- A photo of the lock, if you can take one and text it.
That lets the locksmith leave with the right tools on the first trip. If it is late, wait somewhere lit, under a streetlight or by a shop that is still open, and say where you are standing.
What happens when the locksmith arrives?
A good locksmith asks for ID or another way to show the place is yours. That is for your sake as much as anyone else. Have it ready, or ask your super to vouch. Then the door comes open, starting with the gentlest method and drilling only when nothing else works. If the lock has to come out, you should hear that first and be offered a new one on the spot.
How do I avoid the next one?
- Leave a spare key with someone you can reach in the evening.
- Get a second copy cut and keep it somewhere that is not your key ring.
- If your door locks itself when it closes, think about a lock that does not.
- If keys are missing, rekey the lock so the old ones stop working.
Who do I call in Greenpoint?
Bklyn Locksmith is the key shop at 1014 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222, on Manhattan Avenue. Walk in for keys, or call (347) 500-8711 for a lockout and we come out. The shop is open 9 AM to 11 PM, every day, and the emergency line is open 24/7.