I woke up at 6:00 this morning

[Forrest]

....because some drunken vagrant was trying to smash my apartment door down by running and ramming his body into it at full force. He ended up smashing his head into it hard enough that he dazed himself pretty badly and could no longer stand up. I called the police, who were there within a couple of minutes, and they dragged this guy outside and told him to get lost, which I could have pulled off on my own. Now I'm all freaked out. I have been through a couple of muggings living in New York, but this opened my eyes to how easily a home invasion could be pulled off by someone who is not totally plastered. What do I do to protect myself from this sort of thing? Gun? Bat? Rape whistle?

[Emily]

move?

or more locks on your doors.

[Forrest]

Moving is not an option for me. I'm leaning in a much more Travis Bickle direction.

[Spoony]

Get a dog. Best alarm you could ever get.

[buffcoat]

Gun.  As Pauly Shore said, Pop goes the Wee-zel.

[cutout]

Painting a nice big frowny face on your front door might let potential intruders know that you disapprove. Or you could flood the streets of NYC with the blood of the drunken homeless.

[Kim Kelly]

Can you install a hurricane-proof metal door or something? Or will that kind of thing be frowned upon by your mustache-twirling landlord?

[Sarah]

I'm worried about the drunken vagrant.  I can't believe the cops just dumped him on the street.

[Forrest]

The hallways of my apartment building have long been used in the wee hours by prostitutes and other such unsavory types. The best the NYPD can seem to muster is a take-out-the-trash approach, thus my desire to design my own badge.

I need my place to be the kind where you can take home a, um, companion.

[Sarah]

What do I do to protect myself from this sort of thing? Gun? Bat? Rape whistle?

Hammer.

[Kim Kelly]

I'm just curious: The cat pictured in your icon, is that how your cat actually reacted?

[dave from knoxville]

Go to a pawn shop, get a cheap wooden baseball bat. Get a 2 inch nail, drive it one inch into the fat end of the bat, perpendicular to the bat's length. As soon as you see skin, launch. The head of the nail will enter his skin, then the skin will close around it, making it function like an oversized fishing hook. He's yours.

It will never be a she. That only happens in movies.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

I'd say a heavy lock -- they make a kind of deadbolt that attaches to the door on the outside, and that you can actually take with you when you move, with minimal damage to the door and the doorframe.  I don't actually know how it works but any locksmith should know what it is.  The only problem then is if the door itself is so thin it could be kicked in, breaking against the lock.  But most NYC doors in older units are solid wood.

Also, dog.

[Kim Kelly]

I'd say a heavy lock -- they make a kind of deadbolt that attaches to the door on the outside, and that you can actually take with you when you move, with minimal damage to the door and the doorframe.  I don't actually know how it works but any locksmith should know what it is.  The only problem then is if the door itself is so thin it could be kicked in, breaking against the lock.  But most NYC doors in older units are solid wood.

Also, dog.

He has kitty cats!!

If you do get a dog, make sure you adopt one who has grown up around cats and knows that the cat is boss.

[Forrest]

Yeah, Burt the cat feels like his space is invaded when anyone other than me is here. We live in a very typically small Manhattan studio, so it's easy to understand that he would be territorial.

I've made light of this, but it was truly frightening at the time. I had no idea who was out there, whether or not they were armed, or what they wanted. And when I say that this slamming on the door was loud, I mean it was LOUD. I don't like this one bit, but I have refused from letting anyone scare me into moving out of my home and I will continue to do so. If that means fashioning one of DFK's bats of horror, so be it.