'We as workers, all we want is the acknowledgment. It can’t just be the medical people. We give them all the credit in the world. We’re also in that boat. We’re on the front lines.'
An Upper West Side doorman walks up Broadway on April 23. Photo: David Williams In mid-March, we talked to some of the city’s doormen, who found themselves to be essential workers during the pandemic. Since then, at least 45 members of their union have died in New York City. We checked back in on them about their sense of duty, fears for the most vulnerable residents — and their own health and that of their families — and concern that they are being taken for granted.
My company has been sending out emails to the residents concerning the number of packages that come in — because we get about 300 a day — just reminding them to, you know, “You’re home, and the natural thing is to shop, but our space is limited, and some of you are probably in your second homes — just don’t order too much.” Then I found out they also sent out emails about the doormen. Before all this, I spoke regularly with a woman who has a newborn.
Hardly nobody’s coming out. We only see like three residents come out, and they just go like once a week to the supermarket to buy whatever they gotta do and then we don’t see them again, you know? And then there’s one that has a dog, and so she comes out and walks the dog. Some of the residents are thanking us for being there, and like one of the residents in the first week when there was a shutdown — she gave us money, you know, everyone like if it was a holiday.
The guys [at work] and I’ll talk about what’s goin’ on. And I’ve been telling them that my sister — she got the virus — and my brother-in-law and we’ve been talking about the press conferences from the governor and the president and things like that. We entertain ourselves a little bit by talking. Even though we’re really not supposed to be in the lobby talking. I gotta admit that this does take a toll emotionally, you know? It does to everyone.
There’s doormen who’ve gotten sick already. I don’t wanna be like that. It’s surreal, but at the same time it’s becoming tedious. There’s not a lot of people in the building. They’re quarantining themselves, and a lot of people don’t go out. I spend lots of time just wiping everything down. People in the building are thanking us. Everybody’s appreciative. They say, “Thank you for coming to work today, thank you, thank you.” They go out of their way to make sure that they thank us.
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