Service · 05

Emergency Lockout Service

Locked out of your home, business, or vehicle? Fast, professional response across Staten Island — day or night.

Licensed NYC DCA #0901322

Serving Staten Island since 1922

SI · Brooklyn · Northern NJ

4.9★ on Google · 600+ reviews

When you are locked out, you do not want a 1-800 number that subcontracts the call to whoever picks up. You want a real Staten Island shop with real trucks and real technicians. Minkel dispatches in-house locksmiths 24 hours a day across Staten Island and into Brooklyn for emergency lockouts, broken-key extraction, and lost-key rekeys.

Lockouts don't wait for business hours. Call us any time, day or night, and a real Staten Island locksmith — not a dispatcher in another state — will be on the way.

We open homes, apartments, offices, and most vehicles without unnecessary damage, and we can rekey or replace your lock on the spot if a key was lost or stolen.

The locksmith industry has a serious bait-and-switch problem. Out-of-state call centers buy Google ads with local-looking phone numbers, route your call to whoever picks up, and the technician who arrives is often unlicensed, drives an unmarked car, quotes triple the agreed price on arrival, and drills locks that did not need to be drilled. We are the opposite of that. Minkel is a licensed, family-owned shop on Forest Avenue in Staten Island — our trucks are marked, our technicians are full-time employees, and our prices are the prices you were quoted on the phone.

When you are standing outside your home, your office, or your car, you should not also be making business decisions under pressure. That is why we quote a flat rate before we dispatch, verify our technician with you on arrival, and explain every option before we touch your lock.

Need emergency lockout service on Staten Island? Call 718-442-2626 or request a free estimate. We also serve commercial customers across Brooklyn & Northern New Jersey.

Residential lockouts typically $89–$159 depending on time of day and lock type. Quoted before dispatch.

Why Minkel

What makes our emergency lockout service different.

Real local response

Trucks based on Forest Avenue — average response time under 30 minutes anywhere on Staten Island.

Non-destructive entry

We pick or bypass locks whenever possible, so you are not paying for a new lock unless you want one.

Flat-rate quotes

Price quoted on the phone before dispatch. No bait-and-switch on arrival.

Rekey on the spot

If you lost your keys, we can rekey the cylinder immediately so the lost set is useless.

Licensed and verified

NYC DCA licensed, fully insured, photo ID and shop address provided before the truck rolls.

No scare tactics

We will not tell you a lock needs to be replaced when it can be picked, rekeyed, or simply lubricated.

Insurance-friendly invoicing

Detailed invoices with license number, hardware specs, and photos for break-in claims.

Senior & first-responder discount

Discounted service for seniors, veterans, active-duty military, and FDNY / NYPD personnel.

How it works

Our emergency lockout process, step by step.

01
Call dispatch
Talk to a real person, confirm location and ID, and get a flat-rate quote.
02
Tech dispatched
Nearest licensed Minkel tech rolls out — typically under 30 minutes within Staten Island.
03
Entry
We open the lock non-destructively whenever possible.
04
Optional rekey
If keys are lost, we rekey the cylinder so the missing set will not work again.
05
Written invoice
Itemized invoice handed to you on-site with our license number and the technician's name.

When to call us

Common situations we handle every week.

If your situation sounds like any of these, give us a call. Most can be quoted in a 30-second conversation.

Locked out of your apartment after work without a spare
Broken key snapped off in a deadbolt or door knob
Lost your house keys at the beach or on the ferry
Business owner whose manager quit with the only set of keys
Landlord locked out of a unit after a tenant left
Tenant whose roommate moved out and took the only spare
Storefront with a jammed lock minutes before opening
Burglary cleanup — door pried, frame split, lock destroyed
Frozen lock in January that will not accept the key
Kids accidentally locked the bathroom from inside
Car-key fob stopped working in the parking lot

Avoiding lockout scams

How to tell a real local locksmith from a 1-800 bait shop

A real local locksmith has a physical shop address you can visit, not just a P.O. box or a Google Maps pin on a vacant lot.

A real local locksmith provides a license number on the phone — in NYC, that is a DCA number you can verify on the city's website.

A real local locksmith arrives in a marked vehicle with company branding, not an unmarked sedan.

A real local locksmith holds the phone-quote price on arrival. If the price jumps from $19 to $300 because 'the lock is high security,' you are being scammed.

A real local locksmith picks the lock or rekeys it — drilling is a last resort. If the first thing the tech does is reach for a drill, walk away and call us.

What to do while you wait

Five things to do in the 20 minutes before we arrive

Confirm ID — make sure you have a driver's license or utility bill that matches the address. We are required to verify before opening.

Check obvious spares — neighbor, building super, glovebox, or under a stone. A free door beats a $100 service call.

Try every key on your ring slowly in the lock — house, car, mailbox, gym. People grab the wrong key surprisingly often.

Take a photo of the lock and door — text it to us if asked. It helps the technician arrive with the right tools.

Stay near the door. Lockout technicians cannot wait long at an empty address, and circling back is what causes delays for the next customer.

Brands we work with

Manufacturers and hardware we stock & service.

SchlageKwiksetYaleMedecoMul-T-LockBaldwinAdams RiteBestFalconArrow

Don't see your brand? We service nearly every major manufacturer — call 718-442-2626 and ask.

Questions, answered

Emergency Lockout FAQs.

How fast can you get to me?

Most Staten Island lockouts are reached in 20–30 minutes. We will give you an honest ETA on the phone.

Will you damage my lock?

Almost never. We carry picks, bypass tools, and decoders to open the lock non-destructively in the vast majority of calls.

Are you actually open 24/7?

Yes. The phone is answered by a real Minkel team member around the clock, including holidays.

Do I need to show ID?

Yes. We verify you are the lawful occupant before opening any door — it protects you as much as it protects us.

How do I know you are not a scam call center?

Our shop is at 220 Sand Lane, Staten Island — visit us any business day. Our trucks are marked, our techs carry NYC DCA licenses, and you can verify our license number (#0901322) on the NYC Consumer Affairs site before we arrive.

Why are some online quotes $19 and yours is $89?

Because the $19 quote is bait. Industry-wide, those calls average over $300 on arrival, with the technician insisting the lock needs to be drilled and replaced. Our flat rate is the actual price — no upcharges, no drilling unless you authorize it.

Can you help if my door was kicked in?

Yes. We secure the door, install a new lock, and can supply reinforced strike plates and door wrap-arounds to harden against repeat attacks. We also provide an itemized invoice for your insurance claim.

Do you do car lockouts?

Yes — we open most makes and models without damage. For newer vehicles with proximity keys, we may refer you to a dealer for key programming.

What forms of payment do you accept on a lockout call?

Cash, all major credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Zelle. We email a receipt before we leave.

Keep exploring

You might also need

Customers who book emergency lockout often pair it with these.

Residential Locksmith

Lock installation, repair, and rekeying for Staten Island homes — from classic deadbolts to high-security multi-point systems.

Key Cutting & Duplication

One of the deepest key blank inventories in the borough — house keys, mailbox keys, padlocks, and high-security keys cut on calibrated machines.

Commercial Locksmith

Offices, retail, industrial, and multi-unit buildings across Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Northern NJ. Master key systems, high-security hardware, and scheduled maintenance.

Join our story

Need lock help on
Staten Island? Call now.

From smart-lock installs and rekeying to commercial access control and emergency lockouts — speak with a Staten Island locksmith who has been doing this for one hundred years.

Call 718-442-2626 Request a free estimate