By Doug Black

Though its buildings’ grim architecture has echoes of a penitentiary, Stuyvesant Town’s Orthodox Jewish population would rather not be treated as inmates. But due to the new electronic key system that owners plan to install, this religious group will be effectively imprisoned in their apartments during the Sabbath and on other holy days. The new technology is already in place in nearby Peter Cooper Village, where they’ve eliminated the need for traditional keys. Instead, residents swipe electronic ID cards containing their personal information to access the building. Unfortunately, observant Jews are completely restricted from using this type of technology on Saturdays and for the duration of certain holidays. As a result, for observant residents to leave their domicile, they must wait for building employees or other kindly fellow tenants to operate the door in their stead. The result is a headache for Jewish residents, and a new addition—along with computerized voting machines—to the Superfluous Technology Hall of Fame.