DOORMEN

Doormen are not unique to New York, I’ve seen them at Watergate in Washington DC and I suspect at other high profile buildings across the country. But no where are they as prolific as they are in New York. I say “Doormen” because I have never seen a female door keeper. I see that “Female Door Staff” have their own Facebook page. A Google search of “Female Door Staff” reveals that there are several opportunities in London, but none in New York.

So, what is it about an individual dressed like Sasha Baron Cohen’s character Admiral General Aladeen whose sole job seems to flatter the residents by opening doors and saying “Good Morning” or “Good evening” or “Do you want a cab?” It can’t be our egos, can it?

A couple of years ago, when the doormen in New York threatened to go on strike, comic Billiam Coronel said “What will they do, stand in front of your building?”

Professor Bearman, a sociology professor at Columbia University opined that doormen and apartment building fulfill a need in each other. “For tenants to have distinction they must have professional doorman and for the doorman to be a professional they must have distinctive tenants. It is that these quite discordant social classes figure out a way to relate to each other that elevates the status of both”


When I first moved to New York, I lived in the Upper East Side. The doormen there were nice, but not overly solicitous, that is, until the month of December arrived. In anticipation of holiday tips, they suddenly remembered my name and offered to help with the smallest of tasks. I will never forget one day I was walking home from the grocery store carrying three bags of groceries. The doorman saw me one-half block away and rushes to meet me and carry my groceries the rest of the way. That only happened during the month of December.