Owners responding to recent 'carjackings'.

Shopping center and office building owners, particularly in the suburbs, are confronting the newest crime wave of "carjacking" by increasing security and lighting in parking lots.

Experts warn that distressed properties are particularly at risk because the lack of funds is causing a breakdown in security and preventative measures.

Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, said while the numbers of carjackings are still small in number, they are frightening, he admitted, because traditionally people feel safe inside their cars.

But, Spinola cautioned, while it is not happening throughout the five boroughs every day it is an "occasional" problem and is happening all over the country.

"We need to deal with it and find these criminals and punish them long and hard," he said.

Ronald B. Bruder, president of the Brookhill Group Inc., agreed the problem is a national one and more than just carjacking. "[Property] owners need more of a social responsibility," he observed, and said they must do more than just sweep the parking lot and maintain it.

Lighting in parking lots then, Bruder said, becomes a vital security device as well as a way of avoiding accidents.

As the workout manager for a major New York lender, Bruder recently upgraded the lighting for a Freehold, New Jersey, shopping center within a month of taking on the property.

"It was necessary to keep the tenants happy, the shoppers happy and to get insurance," he said. "The motivation is insurance."

The insurance companies are saying |somebody is going to get sued,' Bruder explained, so while some of the lighting upgrades are altruistic, some are mandatory because of increasing crime and the litigious society.

If you use the commercially obtainable security service, that's about the level of responsibility you can be held to," advised Robert M. Calica, a partner in Reisman Peirez Reisman & Calica of Garden City, which represents many commercial landlords.

Many times, explained Mark J. Lerner, president of Epic Security Corp., the shopping centers are reacting to discounts they get for having guards or need them just to get the insurance in the first place.

"People will file lawsuits for getting mugged in the parking lot," Lerner noted, "and the attorney says, "to provide a good defense, you have to make some effort to provide security."

Ofttimes, Lerner said, local police officials tell the shopping center owners they can't keep coming for every minor incident,and advise them to hire private security.

Calica said he has seen several lawsuits arise out of losses sustained on a property. "A claim for punitive damages would not be covered by insurance," he warned.

While he said problems usually do not normally occur with a well-run property, Calica does see this happening where there is a distressed property.

For instance, he said, there might be a failure to prevent loitering because of a cutback in security guards or inadequate lighting because bulbs were not replaced or lights are turned off at night. In one instance, he recalled, a car travelling at high speed through an unlit TSS parking lot crashed into a light stanchion. The lights were off at the time to save money.

Jaime Weiss, president of Newmark of New Jersey, said most major landlords hire a security guard and have someone roaming around in a patrol car.

"If you have to put in a couple more lighting stations to provide a level of comfort for shoppers to come back, you'll do it," he added.

Weiss observed Public Service Energy & Gas of New Jersey has a program whereby they provide outdoor lighting and poles while the owner pays, of course, for the power.

Billie Scott, director of public relations for Melvin Simon Associates, one of the nation's largest mall owner, said to date, they have experienced nothing like a carjacking at any of their properties.

"We are very much aware of what is happening in the local communities, she explained, because, she added, any crimes going on in the cities could happen at a nearby shopping center.

"We haven't been faced with these situations because of the high standards we place upon ourselves, and quite frankly," she added, "most developers do."

Among the local Melvin Simon-owned centers are Jefferson Valley Mall in Yorktown Heights, A&S Plaza, and Newport Center in Jersey City. Scott said virtually all of the parking there is in a garage with security guards and a manned exit.

The more guards at a shopping center, Lerner explained, the better the security. "people have budgets, however, and security guards are expensive items, so owners strike a balance between a budget and their security needs," he added.

Bruder also believes shoppers are drawn to where it is lighter. "The shopping centers are going to have to do things to keep their customers," Spinola agreed, "and if that means putting in more patrols or lighting then they will have to do that."

While Spinola believes it is wrong for the insurance companies to dictate what owners have to do, he feels the public will demand these things to provide a sense of safety.

"Landlords are sued constantly," Calica observed. "It's a serious liability issue and is clearly decided in favor of the injured person. Analytically," he noted, "a carjacking is no different than a shooting in a lobby."

While shopping center owners do not directly confront this situation because it is an insurance company who is defending the suit, Calica explained there is a punitive damage exposure that is not insurable. "Mark my words there will be a punitive damage suit," he said.

Punitive damages can be awarded if there is a finding that there was gross negligence, he warned.