Aluminum Entrance & Hollow Metal Doors for Daconia Management at 325 West 52nd Street, Hell's Kitchen

Parker Custom Security replaced four doors at 325 West 52nd Street, a multi-family apartment building in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, for property manager Daconia Management. The project followed the path through the building from the sidewalk to the roof: two narrow-stile aluminum and glass entrance doors in the street-level vestibule, a hollow metal exit door at the Stair A landing, and a new hollow metal roof door in place of the older white door it replaced. Each opening got the door type that suits it. Aluminum and glass go where the building meets the street and needs visibility and curb appeal. Hollow metal steel goes where durability, weather exposure, and safe exit matter more than looks. Because one contractor handled the aluminum, the hollow metal, and the hardware, Daconia had a single point of contact for the whole job. Parker installs fire-rated and hollow metal doors, storefront entrances, and commercial door hardware across NYC, Westchester, and Northern New Jersey.

The new aluminum and glass street entrance at 325 West 52nd Street, Hell's Kitchen.

Entrance, Stair, and Roof Doors at 325 West 52nd Street

Most door projects in an apartment building start with one problem opening: a front door that will not latch, a stair door that slams, a roof door that has rusted out. Fix only that one, and the building ends up with a mix of door types, hardware brands, and finishes that each need their own service call. 325 West 52nd Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Hell's Kitchen, took a different approach.

Daconia Management, the property management company responsible for the building, brought in Parker Custom Security to replace the doors that matter most for security and life safety in a multi-family building. That meant the two doors residents and visitors pass through every day, the stairwell exit door, and the door to the roof.

The Challenge: Four Openings, Three Very Different Jobs

A Midtown West apartment building puts very different demands on each of its doors. The vestibule doors open and close all day for residents, deliveries, and visitors, and they are the first thing anyone sees from 52nd Street. The stair door is part of the building's exit path and has to close and latch on its own every time. The roof door sits outside year-round in sun, rain, and freezing temperatures, and it still has to open from the stair side when someone needs to get out.

The roof door shows the difference most clearly. Below, the new hollow metal door is installed in the bulkhead opening, and the older white door it replaced is leaning against the wall beside it.

Before and after on the roof: the new hollow metal door (left) and the old door it replaced (right).

• High-traffic entrance: the vestibule doors take constant use and are the building's face on the street.
• Exit-path stair door: it must self-close and latch every time to keep the stairwell separated from the corridor.
• Exposed roof door: it faces the weather on one side and serves as a way out on the other.
• One building, one standard: the doors needed to work, look, and be serviced as a set.

Sound Familiar? Common Door Headaches in Older Manhattan Buildings

If you manage a pre-war or mid-century building in Manhattan, you have probably dealt with at least one of these:

• "The front door doesn't latch half the time." A worn entrance door that stays ajar quietly undoes your intercom and your locks.
• "Somebody keeps propping the stair door." Stair doors that drag, stick, or slam get wedged open, which is both a safety violation and a fire risk.
• "The roof door is rusting through." Painted-over, dented roof doors stop sealing, let water into the bulkhead, and become hard to operate.
• "Every door needs a different repair guy." Glass doors, steel doors, and hardware often end up with separate vendors and no single point of accountability.

Replacing the key openings as one coordinated project handles all four problems at once.

The Solution: The Right Door Type for Each Opening

Parker matched the door to the job rather than using one product everywhere:

• Vestibule (outer and inner doors): full-glass, narrow-stile aluminum doors in a dark bronze/black finish, set in aluminum framing with glass sidelights. Each door has a horizontal push bar across the glass and a lever handle with a key cylinder. With two doors and a vestibule between them, the building keeps a buffer between the street and the lobby.
• Stair A exit door: a hollow metal steel door with a narrow wire-glass vision lite and a surface-mounted closer, so it swings shut and latches on its own.
• Roof door: a hollow metal steel door with a wire-glass vision lite and a stainless pull plate, built to stand up to rooftop weather.

From the lobby, looking through the inner and outer vestibule doors to 52nd Street.

The outer entrance door and sidelight, seen from inside the vestibule.

Replacing Doors in an Occupied Hell's Kitchen Building

Residents still had to come and go while the work was done. A vestibule with two doors helps here: one opening can be worked on while the other keeps the building closed to the street. Stair and roof doors are usually done one at a time and finished the same day so the exit path is never left without a door. When the work is done, the hardware is adjusted so each door closes, latches, and locks the way it should.

Stair A, stair side: the hollow metal door with its surface closer and wire-glass vision lite.

The same door from the ground-floor corridor, marked for Stair A.

Hollow Metal vs. Aluminum Doors: Design & Specifications

This building shows the two main commercial door families used in NYC apartment buildings, each in the spot where it works best.

Aluminum entrance doors

• Construction: extruded aluminum stiles and rails around large glass panels. "Narrow stile" refers to the slim vertical frame members, which leave most of the door as glass.
• Best for: street entrances, vestibules, and lobbies, where visibility, natural light, and curb appeal matter.
• Finishes: anodized or painted. Dark bronze and black are common on pre-war facades.
• Hardware: push bars or pulls, lever or cylinder locks, and closers. Entrance doors are often tied into the building intercom or access control.
• Vestibule layout: an outer and an inner door with a small enclosed space between them. This blocks drafts and gives the building a second line of security. For more on vestibule design, see our Flushing, Queens vestibule project.

Hollow metal doors

• Construction: steel face sheets over a reinforced core, hung in a steel frame. This is the standard door for stairs, roofs, service areas, and back-of-house openings.
• Best for: exit stairs, roof bulkheads, boiler and utility rooms, and anywhere durability or fire separation matters more than appearance.
• Fire separation: hollow metal is the usual choice for stair and corridor doors that must be fire-rated. In a fire-rated opening, the door, frame, glass, and hardware all have to be listed for that use.
• Vision lites: small glazed panels, here with wire glass, that let people see through the door before opening it.
• Hardware: closers so the door shuts on its own, latching locksets or exit devices, and pull plates. On roof doors, the hardware has to allow exit from the stair side.

The finished Stair A door at the first-floor landing.

The new hollow metal roof door, with a vision lite and a stainless pull plate.

The Finished Result

325 West 52nd Street now has an entrance and exit path that works as one system. The vestibule presents a clean, modern aluminum and glass entrance to the block, and it closes behind every resident. The stair door shuts and latches on its own. The roof door is a solid steel door that is ready for the weather. Daconia Management now has one contractor who knows every one of those openings when service is needed.

Why Property Managers Choose Parker Custom Security

Property management companies like Daconia need a door contractor who can handle the whole building, not only one type of door. Parker's work in Manhattan includes a Harlem co-op entrance with video intercom and access control and many hollow metal and aluminum door projects across the borough.

• In business since 2003: more than two decades of commercial doors, entrances, and hardware in New York City.
• Aluminum, hollow metal, and hardware under one roof: storefront and aluminum entrances, steel doors, and commercial door hardware from one team.
• Occupied-building experience: work is sequenced so residents can always get in and out.
• Licensed, bonded, and insured, serving Manhattan, all five boroughs, Westchester County, and Northern New Jersey.