Brooklyn Heights Condo Comes With Resident Amazon Echo

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY — It's not a butler, but it's something. The developers of a ritzy Brooklyn Heights condominium plans to put Alexa, Amazon's virtual assistant, at its residents' service by installing Echo devices in every home.

Each of the 126 units in the forthcoming Quay Tower at Brooklyn Bridge Park will come with an Echo and Echo Dot, plus a suite of other "smart home" gadgets that will let residents control lighting and temperature with their voices, RAL Companies and Oliver’s Realty Group announced last week.

"At Quay Tower, we’re working hard to deliver homes that meet modern-day needs of active New Yorkers and their families," said Robert Levine, RAL Companies' president and CEO, in a statement. "We’re trying to take that to the next level by integrating Alexa, simplifying life for our residents so they can relax and enjoy time with those they love."

Quay Tower's partnership with Amazon is the first of its kind for a Brooklyn condo, the announcement said. Residences at the 28-story building, where construction is expected to finish next year, will also come equipped with Nest thermostats and Lutron Caseta light switches and lamp-dimmers.

Residents will be able to adjust settings through the Alexa smartphone app in addition to barking orders at the gadgets, according to the announcement.

"Customers tell us they enjoy using Alexa and Echo devices to control settings in their home, keep in touch with family, access information and more," Mike Murphy, senior manager of smart properties at Amazon, said in a statement.

Sales are underway at the development, which will boast waterfront views and easy access to Brooklyn Bridge Park. But the "smart" condos won't come cheap — prices for a two-bedroom apartment start at $1.9 million.

The Brooklyn Heights Association filed a lawsuit over the development of Quay Tower and another nearby building, but a judge ruled against the civic group in February.

(Lead image: Units at Quay Tower in Brooklyn Heights will come with Amazon Echo devices. Photos courtesy of @quaytowerBK)