10 Minutes with Robert

11:50 pm, Mon 2/22

10 Minutes with Robert.

Has been working at 295 Park Ave South for 1 year and 3 wks

Has been a doorman for 1 year and 8 months - his first job was a summer job

Works 6 days a week, sometimes doubles (16 hrs/day)
generally 48 hrs/wk

not in the Union - doesn't want to be
already has healthcare, etc

if you're in the Union - you get healthcare/they find you a job if you get fired


Does he like the job?

yes. but it took some getting used to. the job came to him because of his family. but he likes getting to know his residents. "you get to know people, and they eventually end up wanting to get to know you. it takes awhile, but when they do, it makes them more comfortable with you and you with them."

about seeing people at their worst and their best:

people have their good days and their bad days. good days - they'll say hi and goodbye to you. definitely on the weekends. if they had a good night, they might not be feeling so great in the morning and they probably won't say bye to you. when they come back from work, they still might not have the energy to say hi.

does he take it personally?

nope. he understands where people are coming from. "anybody that has to go to work the next day after a big night is going to act like that. nobody wants to do that mans job feeling like that."

when its quiet, like now:

"I make at least one good friend in the building. I'm lucky, I have a friend in this building and he'll come down and talk to me for hours and my shift will go by like that (snaps fingers)."

His friend here? Adam. "The one with the glasses. He looks like a hobo bc he's always covered in paint but he's actually just a painter."

His uniform:

currently wearing his black suit with "295 Park Ave South" embroidered on the pocket, olive green shirt underneath, matching tie

"im supposed to be wearing a white shirt under this, but they cut me some slack because I usually work here 6 days a week. They let me wear what I want to wear. I'm not going to do my laundry that often and I'm not going to wear dirty clothes. I don't get paid overtime. I'm doing them a favor, so they let me dress how I want to dress."

and the building isn't as classy or upscale compared to other buildings.

@ 51st and Lexington

much harder. "you have to open the door for everyone that comes in, no matter who it is. you also gotta take whatever they throw at you, if they yell or cuss."

What about here?

I've had someone throw a cigarette in my face because I told him he couldn't smoke in here. They probably would have been okay with me throwing him out into the street, but he was drunk and I wasn't going to throw no drunk resident out there."

The friends of the residents are the worst. They don't care because they're not paying to live here. They'll pee in the stairwell or smoke in the lobby....

The clock changes to 12:00 am. Sam, the doorman working the next shift, strolls through the front doors. "And that's the end of my shift! Gotta run. Not trying to cut you off, I just have a subway to catch. I'll be here tomorrow at midnight though, let's talk then."