Buildings Tighten Security in Wake of Mail Bombs

After pipe bombs arrived at the homes and offices of multiple critics of President Donald Trump, including former President Barack Obama and CNN’s Columbus Circle headquarters, New York City property owners and managers are ramping up security, the Real Deal reports. 

Larger office buildings tend to have some safety measures already in place. But controlling postage threats in residential buildings, including co-ops and condos, can be complicated. Packages can sit unattended in lobbies for hours, and mail is delivered to individual boxes.

Dan Wollman, chief executive of residential property management firm Gumley Haft, says his firm has instructed door people and concierges at some of its buildings to call residents when a package arrives for them rather than simply sending the package straight to their apartments. The procedures were implemented at a dozen of the company’s Upper East Side buildings last week, immediately after news broke of a bomb placed at the home of billionaire George Soros in a New York suburb. Soros, a supporter of Democratic candidates, is a favorite target of right-wing conspiracy theorists. 

“I can’t think in recent memory having done something like this,” Wollman says. “We are no longer, in certain buildings, giving the packages unless that person is called and says it’s okay to accept the package.” 

Sal Lifieri, whose company Protective Countermeasures serves as a security consultant to major commercial landlords, says buildings should have a point person who is trained to recognize suspicious mail. Signs to look out for include a stained envelope, protruding objects, vulgarity, excessive postage and a strange return address. The pipe bombs – also sent to Robert De Niro’s office in Lower Manhattan and to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – had half a dozen first-class stamps and a misspelled return address for U.S. Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat. 

Cesar Sayoc, 56, an ardent Trump supporter, was arrested Friday in Florida and charged with mailing the letter bombs.