Engineer leads life-safety modernization at landmark New York City building

Manish Kulkarni is overseeing fire alarm, security, intercom and emergency communication upgrades at a century-old landmark New York City building. The project highlights how historic properties can meet modern life-safety standards without losing their character or disrupting operations.

Why it matters: - Older commercial buildings in major U.S. cities are under pressure to modernize aging fire and life-safety systems. - The New York City project shows how a historic property can upgrade safety infrastructure while preserving its character and keeping the building operational. - The work has implications for similar projects across the New York metropolitan area.

What happened: - Manish Kulkarni, a fire and life safety systems engineer with more than 18 years of international experience, is leading the modernization work for a landmark New York City building similar to the Flatiron Building. - As Lead Design Engineer at Classic Systems, Inc., Kulkarni is overseeing upgrades to the fire alarm, security, intercom and emergency communication systems. - The work is designed to bring the century-old structure into alignment with current life-safety standards.

The details: - Kulkarni is coordinating the installation, testing and commissioning of interconnected safety systems inside the building. - The project requires balancing modern code compliance with the preservation of historic character. - Kulkarni's career includes fire detection, security and building automation work across the United States, Singapore, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Bangkok and India. - Before joining Classic Systems in 2024, Kulkarni spent more than 16 years at Honeywell International. - At Honeywell, he worked on fire alarm and building-management upgrades for hospitals, laboratories, government facilities and industrial sites, including Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson and Valley Hospital. - His earlier overseas projects included Singapore's National Stadium, Mount Eden Prison in New Zealand and a Micron semiconductor manufacturing facility. - Kulkarni holds NICET Level IV certification, plus credentials in fire alarm and security platforms from Notifier, Gamewell-FCI and Honeywell. - He also holds a Six Sigma Green Belt. - Honeywell gave Kulkarni the Bravo Gold Award for his work on the Micron Semiconductor project in Singapore. - He also received Bravo Awards for contributions to projects at Aquarion, Prudential and AT&T.

Between the lines: - The project is a practical example of how engineers are adapting legacy buildings to modern safety expectations without a full rebuild. - Kulkarni's international background suggests experience handling complex, occupied sites where safety, continuity and preservation have to coexist. - His work on this project appears to be part of a broader push across the region to update older buildings with more integrated safety systems.

What's next: - Kulkarni will continue leading similar system upgrades across the New York metropolitan area. - Classic Systems is also engineering comparable upgrades at Nehemiah Spring Creek, the BKM Complex and properties on President Street, Clarkson Street and Washington Street. - The landmark building will move through installation, testing and commissioning as the modernization advances.

The bottom line: - The project underscores how historic New York buildings can be retrofitted to meet modern life-safety demands without sacrificing their identity.