Results tagged “doorman”

An Upper East Side man is suing the owners of his building for $10 million after his doorman allegedly left him with severe injuries following "a seriously misguided effort to be social." 55-year-old Glenn Reit had just gotten back from a ski vacation when he crossed paths with doorman Fred Rosario, who excitedly told him to sit down and "close his eyes and pretend he was skiing," an always ominous request. Rosario's ski fantasy for Reit turned out to be less Bode Miller and more Sonny Bono when the doorman began laughing and yelled, "You've hit a tree!" and according to the suit, "planted a forceful karate chop on the back of the plaintiff's neck," that has left Reit "substantially disabled." Reit claims the chop cost him $7,000 in medical bills from "a herniated disc, vertigo, neck pain, blurry vision and a concussion." Rosario denies any karate chop and describes his interaction with Reit as being more like an Atomic Sit-Up, where the tree was simply played by a slap to Reit's forehead.

Yesterday was cabbie Joseph Horvath's first day on the job, and he learned an important lesson: Never walk away with the keys in the ignition. Horvath had gotten out of his taxi around 12:45 p.m. to help his elderly passenger into a building at Fifth Avenue and 51st Street, across from St. Patrick's Cathedral. But seeing that Horvath was double parked, an unidentified doorman decided to "help" by jumping behind the wheel and moving the vehicle. That's when he clipped an oncoming Mercedes-Benz and careened onto the crowded sidewalk, where tourists were thronged because of Holy Thursday services. Luckily, he only grazed one pedestrian, a woman from Arkansas, who suffered a minor leg injury and refused medical treatment. Police are investigating the incident but have not charged the doorman yet. As for Horvath, he tells the Daily News, "It's embarrassing [and] I have to explain it to my garage. It's a good thing it wasn't my fault. I hope they don't give me the boot."

In the 1970s the New York Dolls took on another member, their roadie Peter Jordan, who often filled in on bass for Arthur Kane (allegedly when Kane's drinking became bad or, you know, when his girlfriend tried to cut off his thumb with a kitchen knife). While Jordan hasn't been taking part in their "comeback" shows over the past few years, he is still very much a part of New York. The former rockstar is now a doorman at a non-residential building in Midtown, near Grand Central. If you see him, show some respect...and ask him if he's working on a memoir (during his years with the Dolls he kept a diary, which was used as a reference for one book on the band). And did you know guitarist Sylvain Sylvain used to drive a cab?

As mentioned earlier, holiday tipping is taking a hit these days. But some building staffs still have expectations. One shop steward tells Page Six Magazine, "Anything under $50 is considered a bad tip. Some tenants give $20, a few give $400 and some don't give at all—and I can tell you the staff treats [the nongivers] differently. If a bad-tipping tenant calls down for help, the doormen make them wait a little longer. The biggest tippers get the best service." Other doormen put it this way: If you're a good tipper, they'll help you with "moving parked cars to abide by the city's alternate side parking rules, fixing TVs and computers, taking dogs for walks and conveniently 'forgetting' comely visitors to the apartments of adulterers." [Via Curbed]

A jury decided that real estate developer (and father of the former gov) Bernard Spitzer discriminated against employees and must pay them $1.3 million in back wages and damage. Four employees had sued Spitzer and the building management at 150 East 57th Street after they were fired by the super and replaced by white or light-skinned Hispanics. The building management company settled with them, but Spitzer did not and the suit headed to court. The ailing 84-year-old, who had denied racism ("If I see a doorman, I see a doorman - I do not see a white doorman or a black doorman... I don't see the blackness or whiteness or pinkness or yellowness of a doorman"), was not in court; his lawyer said they will appeal.

In a Bronx courtroom yesterday, 84-year-old real estate developer Bernard Spitzer insisted four black employees at one of his apartment buildings were not fired due to their race. The father of the former governor said, "If I see a doorman, I see a doorman - I do not see a white doorman or a black doorman... I don't see the blackness or whiteness or pinkness or yellowness of a doorman. I have a mind that focuses on the fact that a doorman operates as a doorman."

Millionaire Richie Randazzo, the lotto-winning Park Avenue doorman who wanted to keep it real by keeping his job at the luxury condo, has been fired at last, the Post reports. Last week Randazzo told the tabloids that the management had been threatening to terminate him because he was "spending too much time outside the building." It continues to be a rough week for the blue collar playboy; on Monday news broke that his new bombshell girlfriend is charged with “promoting prostitution” at a Jersey strip club. But despite rumors that the strippers/hookers hated her, one dancer at the club defends Randazzo’s special lady friend: “They're just mad because she got the $5 million doorman. That's what they all dream about.”

Despite winning $5 million with the "Set for Life" scratch-off game last May, Park Avenue doorman Richie Randazzo is determined to keep his job, where he earns $40,000 a year plus tips. But his attempt to move into the building was stymied, and now he says the management is trying to fire him “for spending too much time outside the building and wearing short-sleeve shirts.” Randazzo tells the Post, "They are jealous. They're running [the apartment building] like the Gestapo. You're required to stand all the time. They want you to look like a soldier." Other unreasonable demands include opening doors and signing for deliveries.

A 26-year-old woman was found murdered in her Chelsea apartment by her sister last night, and the murder victim's boyfriend--and the murder suspect, according to police-- killed himself a few hours after the discovery.

Bad breath will usually cost one a second date, but who knew that it could cost one a job? Doorman Jonah Seeman was told that he shouldn't show up for work today because he was being suspended for having stinky breath. The 61-year-old worked as a doorman at a four-building complex on East 89th St. in Manhattan for 40 years, supporting his 81-year-old mother. Seeman was suspended twice before for his breath, the first time...