Doormen, Supers And Building Managers Going Above And Beyond To Keep Residents Safe Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Doormen, supers and building managers are some of the unspoken heroes of the coronavirus pandemic, going above and beyond to keep apartment dwellers safe.
An inventive "fogging station" is just one of many measures building manager John Faldetta has taken to make his employees and tenants feel safe.
While there's no official data on if it actually kills coronavirus-related germs, he requires his 18 employees, who have been provided painter's coveralls, to use it before entering the building.
You step on a floor pedal and a mist, compromised of 70% alcohol and 30% water, comes out.
"Before they take off their PPE, they will douse themselves," Faldetta told CBS2's Lisa Rozner.
"I have to hold people's garbage, so the second I finish that, I have to take off my gloves, wash my mask, wash the whole suit," porter Luke Sheehan said.
The fogging station is optional for tenants at the Saint James Tower on East 54th Street.
"I think it's a good idea. Everything that can be done," tenant Joaquin Perez Alhei said.
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Being creatively cautious is nothing new for Faldetta, who already owns two U.S. patents. Staff, outfitted with goggles and masks, are also using a UVC light wand, which some studies say can kill bacteria.
"Our laptop, Xerox machines, those are keypads that we're constantly touching, so we will, once an hour, we will scan them," Faldetta said.
"This is his home. It's amazing,"
Taking a page from Europe, in the elevator, tenants don't need to touch buttons. Tissues are available as a barrier with a trash can to dispose it.
"They're feeding us, giving us overtime," employee Rachid Asserkaf said.
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In buildings across the city, the dedication to the job means treating tenants' homes like their own.
John Haynes is a doorman at a building on West 57th Street with many elderly tenants. Deliveries stop at his desk now.
"Wee're doing different measures, like putting it in an elevator for them, making sure that they get it," he said. "Making sure they're secure and they're safe."
For some, selflessly ensuring the safety of others has come with a cost.
The union that represents employees of most residential buildings, 32BJ SEIU, says of its 35,000 members, 39 have died from the coronavirus.
