Reliant Safety offers security and property management

NEW YORK—When Omni New York, an affordable housing development company, couldn't find the right security company to work with, it created an in-house firm called Reliant Safety.

Now independent, Reliant Safety has a growing list of clients across the country who like the security and property management solutions it provides to building owners, and the lifestyle improvements it provides for families.  

Reliant's approach is to blanket all public areas of a property with cameras. “One property has 1,600 cameras in it, every stairwell, hallway and entrance is covered by cameras,” Mathew Holladay, Reliant Safety CEO and managing partner, told Security Systems News.

Reliant installs all Hikvision IP cameras, but it can install other kinds of cameras depending on the property owner's preference.

The cameras are used for security, but they're also used for building management, Holladay said. “If there's a broken window, a couch in the hallway, people walking pets off leash or pets making a mess on the property, we [use the cameras] to help the property manager better manage the property,” he said.

Tenants who engage in any of this kind of behavior are caught on camera, identified and fined. Once tenants and visitors realize they can't get away with the behavior, it stops, Holladay said. This translates to significant savings in operational costs for the property owner, he said.

The bundle of services offered by Reliant goes well beyond the security system design and installation, and includes video monitoring through its security operations center here in New York City. It also includes Reliant's MRT (Management Response Team) a group of 11 former NYPD officers who work with the property manager and tenants from day one to set up the security systems and to act as a liaison with local law enforcement.

The MRT helps property managers with non-security matters and day-to-day problems, but it also works with managers and local law enforcement to confront long-term problems such as gang activity and drug dealing.

Reliant's services “help enhance the cash flow and value of the properties and every step we take makes our properties a better place for tenants to live,” Holladay said.

Neil Nappi, Reliant VP of operations, oversees the MRT. A former NYPD officer, and federal Drug Enforcement Agency agent, Nappi said Reliant Safety is responsible for “complete turnaround stories” at several properties.

When Reliant took over the River Park Towers in the Bronx in 2012. “There were 1,600 units and 500 vacancies. This place was riddled with crime,” he said. The four-building property employed 40 security guards every day for an annual cost of $2.5 million.

One year later, after a sting operation that involved more than 38 arrests, the property is “totally renovated, there is no more graffiti on the walls and elevators and there is a waiting list for units,” Nappi said. Today, the number of security guards employed is less than half the number required in 2012, saving the property owner well over $1 million annually.

Omni New York was founded by former baseball star Mo Vaughn and Eugene Schneur, about a decade ago. Reliant Safety was created in 2009. It manages about 8,500 cameras and supports about 14,000 residential units across 11 states. In addition to Holladay and Nappi, the executive staff includes VP of business development Brian Fishler and VP of Technology Mike Golini. Reliant just last year started to actively seek jobs outside of Omni's properties, Holladay said.