Service area
Smart Home and Private AI Installation in New York City
Kotoh Home installs private AI home assistants and smart home systems in New York City apartments and townhouses, planned around building rules, shared walls and the second home you may also keep out east.
A city apartment is a different kind of smart home
Most smart-home advice assumes a detached house. New York is mostly the opposite: apartments stacked above and below each other, a lobby and doorman between you and the street, a super who holds a key, and a co-op or condo board with its own rules. A good install works with all of that instead of around it.
The city's infrastructure also fails in ways you feel indoors. When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, power outages affected nearly 2 million people in New York City, Con Edison was still restoring hundreds of thousands of customers days later, and flooding at a telecom building on West Street knocked out voice and data service in lower Manhattan. You don't need a storm for a bad day, though. A slow leak under a sink can reach the apartment below long before anyone notices.
What we set up for New York homes
- Leak protection that protects the neighbors too. Water sensors by the sinks, washer, dishwasher and water heater, with an optional shutoff valve where your building permits one. You get a text the moment one trips.
- Building access without spare keys. Time-limited codes for a cleaner, dog walker or contractor, logged to your messages. If your entry door can't be changed, we work with the door you have and add an alert when it opens.
- A network that suits an apartment. Dense buildings mean crowded Wi-Fi. We put your smart devices on their own network, away from your computers and phones, and place access points so the bedroom at the end of the hall actually connects. Details in our network and security service.
- Climate and shades on a schedule that follow how you live, plus an "away" routine for when you head out of town.
- One assistant for both homes. Many New Yorkers also keep a house out east. As an Estate project, one assistant can answer for the apartment and the house in East Hampton or on Shelter Island.
Boards, supers and alteration rules
In New York City, a share of owner-occupied apartments are co-ops rather than condos, and co-op and condo buildings set their own rules for work inside units. We plan the install so most of it is battery-powered and stays inside your apartment, which usually keeps it out of the alteration process. Where something does touch the entry door, the walls or a common area, we flag it at the walk-through so you can check with your managing agent first. We never schedule work your building hasn't cleared.
How a travel install works
Kotoh Home is based on the East End of Long Island and in Miami. We don't keep an office in New York City; we come to you. It works in three steps:
- Video walk-through. A free call where you show us the house, the network closet and the devices you already have. We agree what the assistant should handle and give you a fixed price.
- Install day. We fly in, set up the hub and your private AI, secure the network, connect your accounts and devices, and show everyone in the household how to text it.
- Care from a distance. Updates, monitoring and new routines happen remotely under your care plan. If something ever needs hands on site, we quote the trip first.
Travel is billed at cost and quoted with the project, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Private by design
Every install puts a smart-home hub in your home that runs your devices and routines locally, so they keep working when the internet doesn't. With Private Home, the AI runs on a dedicated computer in the house that you own, and your household details never leave it. With Private Cloud, it runs an open-source model on a private server we operate for you in a U.S. data center, with no conversation logs kept and nothing sent to OpenAI, Google or Amazon; the AI chat pauses during an internet outage while the hub keeps the house running. Messages travel through Apple's or Meta's encrypted networks depending on the app you use, and connected accounts like email and calendars stay with their providers. More in our guide to local vs cloud AI assistants.
Getting started
Book a free video walk-through through the form or at hello@kotohhome.com. You'll get a fixed price before any work: Private Cloud from $4,995 or Private Home from $24,995, plus travel at cost. Care plans are $199 a month for Private Cloud, including your private AI server, or $399 for Private Home.
Common questions
Do you have an office in New York City?
No. Kotoh Home is based on the East End of Long Island and in Miami. For Manhattan, Brooklyn and the rest of the city we start with a video walk-through, then travel in for install day, and the trip is quoted at cost with your project.
Will my co-op or condo board need to approve the work?
Often not, because most of what we install stays inside your apartment: the hub, the network and battery-powered sensors. Anything that touches the entry door, wiring inside walls or common areas usually falls under your building's alteration rules, so we check those with you and your managing agent before install day.
Can it warn me about a leak before it reaches the neighbors?
Yes. Water sensors under sinks, behind the washer and dishwasher and near the water heater text you the moment they detect water, and an optional automatic shutoff valve can close your supply if your building allows one.
Can one assistant cover my apartment and my house in the Hamptons?
Yes, as an Estate project. One assistant can answer for both homes, with separate routines, and you text it the same way wherever you are. We're based out east, so the second home is in our own backyard.
What does it cost?
Private Cloud starts at $4,995, plus a $199-a-month care plan that includes your private AI server. Private Home, with a dedicated AI computer in the apartment that works fully offline, starts at $24,995, with care at $399 a month. Estate projects are quoted individually, and travel is quoted at cost.