By Allen Houston

Abdul Kaid, 44, the building fire safety and emergency action plan director for 1350 Sixth Avenue, has to be prepared in case of the worst.

The Yemen native, who moved to the states in 1984, oversees all safety complaints for the 35-story office building, including making sure that the office’s residents are ready for everything from fires to manmade threats to natural disasters.

“It’s a big responsibility and I like the challenge of it,” he said. “No matter what the situation, I can’t show any signs of panic. The people here expect me to stay calm and guide them to safety in case something unexpected happens.”

Abdul Kaid is responsible for the safety of the 3,000 people at the office building where he works. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Kaid started at the office building in 1986 as a security porter and worked his way up to his current position. As part of his job, he makes sure that the building passes all fire inspections, that safety drills are carried out and that floor captains are trained.

“I have to make sure that they have everything down so that we can exit in the safest way possible,” he said. “It’s a very cooperative atmosphere and everyone plays a part in making sure that this happens.

One of the things that he is most proud of is that in all the years that he’s been in charge, the building hasn’t received any violations.

After Sept. 11, 2001, the role of emergency action plan director was added to his title. In this capacity, Kaid ensures that the building and its 3,000 employees is prepared for new threats such as terrorist attacks and anthrax scares.

“Before the September 11 attacks, everyone was laidback, but all of that has changed,” he said.

He runs the residents through drills, passes out educational material and offers training to building employees.

The father of six and Brooklyn resident finds solace in his time at home, where he shoots baskets with his kids and works out at the gym.

He also said that his co-workers have become like a family to him.

“We have fun every day,” he said. “The porters all work together to make sure that the people of the building stay safe. There’s definitely a feeling that we are all in this together.”

By Patrick Wall

In his sermons, Marvin Abram is fond of saying that he’s closer to God than most folks.

Churchgoers who know the pastor’s day job understand: Monday through Friday, Abram is a window cleaner in the Financial District and Midtown, where he’s been shining part of the world’s most famous skyline since he was 22 years old.

Marvin Abram, a pastor and window cleaner, says he used to take lots of risks on the job before he found God.

Watching Abram wipe down windows hundreds of feet above the ground, it’s hard to believe him when he says that his risk-taking days are long gone. When he was just starting on the job, he said, he would swing out of windows and let his safety harness catch him, or dangle by the lifeline rope while his partner lowered the scaffold out from under him.

Describing those years, Abram said, “Reckless is an understatement.”

At that age, Abram’s antics continued after work. He was partying and getting into trouble, he said, well into his twenties.

Once, after a particularly long night, Abram woke to a pounding headache, a ringing phone and his mother shouting in the apartment below his.

“I decided to look in the mirror, and I didn’t like what I saw,” Abram said. “So I decided to do something about it.”

What Abram did was enroll in college at age 27, major in theology and obtain a minister’s license. Soon after, he was preaching at a Baptist church in Brooklyn.

During a sermon there one Sunday about five years ago, Abram asked the congregation to take out their Bibles. While most people reached for thick, dog-eared books, one woman pulled a thin electronic device out of her purse. She pushed a button, and the Scriptures appeared on the screen. After the service, Abram introduced himself to the woman.

The two began looking for one another at church each Sunday. Soon they were dating. A year later Abram proposed, and in 2006 Marvin and Nadine Abram were married. Today they are raising their newborn daughter, Madison, two months. Nadine’s 21-year-old son Gary is in college.

Every morning at 3 a.m., Abram leaves his sleeping wife and daughter in Kensington, Brooklyn, and takes a train to the city. By 4:30 a.m., he’s washing the lobby windows of a silent skyscraper.

Once the sun is out, Abram and his partner head to the roof. With their harnesses on, they climb into a narrow metal basket, pull a lever and hold tight as they’re lowered by cables down the side of the building. Then, using a wooden brush, a bucket full of water and dish soap, and a squeegee—which, like the workers, is strapped to the scaffold—each man begins cleaning.

A single, 12-foot wide column of windows on a typical 40-story building will take an entire day to wash, one floor at a time. During those hours, the workers can’t eat or drink or use the restroom.

Still, they manage to stay entertained. Abram can’t count how many people have turned around inside their offices or apartments and jumped at the sight of his smiling face. Clasped chests and dropped mugs are common reactions.

Though the work is hard, the pay is good and the benefits are great, Abram said. But it’s the camaraderie among the workers that he said matters most to him.

As a shop steward, Abram acts as a liaison between the company and his union, 32BJ SEIU. “I’m the guy people call,” Abram said, “when they have a problem.”

Every evening, as he rides the train back to Brooklyn, Abram feels blessed. “I know God loves me,” he said, “any day I make it home.”

By Allen Houston

Rosa Dominguez, 50, has done it all in her 17 years as a stadium cleaner at Madison Square Garden. She has been a custodian and an elevator operator, vacuumed the floors of the famous event center and hobnobbed with musicians such as Jay Z, Shakira and sports legends like Mohammad Ali.

Rosa Dominguez says that her co-workers and the excitement of Madison Square Garden always keeps her job new. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Not bad for a small-town girl who came here from the Dominican Republic more than 20 years ago.

“Its like magic at the Garden,” she said. “You can be watching the circus in the morning, and then in the afternoon you can see a rock concert.”

The mother of three currently spends much of her workday cleaning the Club Bar and Grill to make sure that it’s ready for opening. The exclusive bar is located on the Club Terrace inside the stadium and is a popular place to hang out with celebrities and members of professional sports teams.

Her day starts at 7 p.m. and ends at 3 a.m. During that time, Madison Square Garden goes from having a raucous energy to the solitude of late night. Dominguez likes both parts of her job.

“I like meeting different kinds of people and that’s good when I first come in to work,” she said. “Later, it’s nice to have some time alone to concentrate on the work that has to be done.”

She said that the job has afforded her the opportunity to see lots of concerts as well as meet many famous musicians, such as Shakira, who was “extremely nice” when they met on the elevator.

The job has also afforded her the opportunity to help send her three children, Yolanda, Hector and Jose Mendoza, to college—a position that she wasn’t sure she’d be in before she landed her current job.

Before work, Dominguez likes to partake in some of her favorite activities, including reading, taking yoga and baking cakes, especially pineapple and other Dominican flavors of her youth.

She also loves to travel. Her favorite place that she has been recently is Las Vegas.

“It’s just so wonderful and amazing,” she said.

Back in the office, she said that what makes her job so wonderful is all of the great people that she works with.

“I just have the nicest bunch of co-workers in the world,” she said.

By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke

Kirth Crawford was getting off the subway 13 years ago when a gust of wind blew his newspaper out of his hand and open to the classified section.

“I saw that Disney was hiring, so I called them and went in for an interview,” said Crawford, 40.

Crawford began by selling T-shirts for the Disney production of Aida at the Palace Theatre and eventually started filling in for housekeeping porters. Crawford moved to the Gershwin Theatre when Wicked opened seven years ago. Two years after he started working at the Gershwin, Crawford was promoted to head porter.

Kirth Crawford makes sure that the curtain goes up at The Gershwin Theater as head porter. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Wicked, the popular musical based on a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, has been on Broadway for seven years and, according to Crawford, all eight shows a week play to full houses.

Before working on Broadway, Crawford did odd jobs. He worked at a supermarket, as a security guard at department stores and as a newspaper deliveryman. He likes his current job the best.

“It’s not hard, just time consuming, but if you keep up with everything it runs smooth,” said Crawford.

A typical day for Crawford starts at 6 a.m., when he drives to the Gershwin Theatre from his apartment in Washington Heights. At 2 p.m., he goes home and picks his son up from school. At 5 p.m., he returns to the Gershwin. He goes home around 10 p.m.

“I sleep about 12 hours a week,” said Crawford. “It isn’t a big deal though— nobody in my family sleeps a lot.”

Crawford is in charge of his department, which consists of 20 porters. They have to make sure that the garbage is taken out, the floors mopped and vacuumed, the bathrooms restocked and the backstage area cleaned.

Crawford is also responsible for payroll for his department. He has to make sure that all the hours are correct, and he has to find a sub when one of the porters calls in sick. Finding subs, and showing them the ropes, is the most difficult part of the job.

“They got lost in the building because it’s so big, and then I have to find them.” The Gershwin seats around 2,000 and has five stories.

“It’s hard when you have a building this big because as fast as you clean up, it gets messed up,” said Crawford. “Small theaters got it good because everything is right there.”

Over 300 people work for the show. “We put up pictures so we can tell who is supposed to be here, but sometimes it is hard to recognize the actors in their makeup,” said Crawford.

There are some surprising parts of backstage life. “The men actually keep their dressing room cleaner than the women, which is not what I expected,” said Crawford. The stagehands have a room with a stove and a food dehydrator, where they bring in deer to make jerky. “I guess they go hunting,” said Crawford. “They are nice guys and they feed us.”

There is also a laundry room, a costume room, a wood shop and ensemble and individual dressing rooms. The ensemble painted a mural in one of the stairways and departing cast and crew write notes when they leave.

On school holidays, Crawford brings his son and stepson to work. “I put them to work,” he says with a smile. “I have a great boss. It’s very kid-friendly here.”

Crawford’s 13 year-old-son, Kendell, enjoys one of the best perks of his father’s job. “He gets to see all the shows,” said Crawford. “But his favorite thus far is Wicked.”

By Lydie Raschka

One day, Carol Giordano struggled against a robust wind.

“I’m disabled,” she said. “I walk with a cane. I had papers in my hand. Of course they flew everywhere.”

Enter Louis Rios, 59, doorman since 1974, and all-around Good Samaritan.

“There he was,” said Giordano. “Running after the papers. I didn’t expect it. It was so kind.”

When the weather turns bad, Louis Rios is the one to remind office workers what they need. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Rios works in a prestigious commercial building, at 733 Third Avenue at 46th Street, owned by the Durst Organization that houses the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, as well as UN World Food, Rodale Press and, at one time, the offices of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the late U.S. senator from New York.

He calls every entrant by name, even those who pass through his doors just once a week.

“There are hundreds of us in this building,” marveled Jennie Powers, vice president of special events for the multiple sclerosis group. “Louis is the first person people meet when they arrive. He’s the front of the house for us. His face is in my head. He is always so present.”

As “front of the house,” Rios serves as watchman, good-natured nudge and confessor. He holds the elevator car for those in wheelchairs, or using canes or walkers.

“He asks what you are having for lunch,” said Powers, “and reminds you to bring a sweater, an umbrella. He’s the greeter. He’s the weatherman.”

“It’s almost like if they were family,” said Rios. “A lot of people come in with problems from the outside. I let them take it out, it makes them feel good.”

Rios was born and raised in Brooklyn with two brothers. His father died 10 years ago. He and his wife, a retired New York City schoolteacher, raised two daughters on the first and second floors of a three-family brownstone they purchased in Park Slope in 1977.

The couple likes to “get in the car, turn it on and just go.” They’ve been to Vermont, London and Montreal, where they visited cathedrals and casinos.

“I’m usually pretty good with casinos,” he said.

When it comes to his 35 years at the door, however, Rios is modest and nonchalant. “The building practically runs itself,” he maintained, “nothing unusual happens here.”

Yet tenants say he is unusual for his ability to be the eyes and ears of a building.

“I feel pretty good around him when I’m out there,” Giordano said. “He’s watching out for me.”

By Clifford A. Merin

For security guard Louis Taveras, a day’s work would not be complete without the support of his family. Taveras, a 32-year-old resident of West Harlem, is married with two children and gives his family much credit and appreciation for receiving this award.

“Sometimes it’s not enough that you be committed to do things. You have to put your whole family into it,” he said. “You try to sit down with your family and your wife to try to push them to support you in whatever you’re doing—and I think that’s the key for it.”

Security guard Louis Taveras has become such an important part of Yeshiva University that a rabbi, during a graduation ceremony, thanked Taveras for his work. He also enjoys celebrating the Jewish holidays, with Rosh Hashana being his favorite. Photo by Karl Crutchfield

Taveras has been working at the security desk of Yeshiva University for the past nine years. With enthusiasm in his voice, Taveras readily states that he enjoys his work. “Yeah, I love my job,” he said. “The best thing is the direct contact to people.”

Taveras recalled a particular experience at a graduation ceremony, where a rabbi, whom he had not seen in about 6 years, thanked Taveras during his commencement speech for the great work that he does at the security desk.

It was partly luck, however, that landed Taveras his job. Following his graduation from high school, Taveras worked part-time for Meals on Wheels and then part-time at a restaurant. As he continued to look for full-time work, a friend told him about a security guard job that he knew was available at Yeshiva University.

Although Taveras applied for, was accepted and received training for this position, he could not take the over-night shifts that were offered to him because, at the time, he was living with his grandmother and could not leave her alone throughout the night. As fate would have it, a few days after he reluctantly turned down the offer, Taveras received another offer, this one to work during the day. He immediately accepted and has been with Yeshiva University ever since.

Taveras enjoys being able to converse with the diverse population of employees who work at the school. “Sometimes they stop with you and talk with you about all different problems,” he said. “So it’s not only security.”

And, because of the Jewish atmosphere, Taveras has learned a thing or two about the religion and culture. “You have to know certain stuff in order to be working in a Jewish institution,” he said. Taveras enjoys being a part of all the different holiday parties and celebrations. “Rosh Hashana,” he said with a laugh, referring to the Jewish New Year. That’s his favorite holiday.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Taveras immigrated to the United States at age 15. Upon arriving in America, he and his family settled in New York City. At that time, Taveras barely spoke a word of English; however, he attended Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics High School where he learned the language.

In his free time, Taveras loves to swim. “I try to go at least two, three days a week,” he said. “It relaxes all the stress of the day.” He also loves to dine. “I love food. Every good food I like—I don’t care.” And, because he works at Yeshiva University, Taveras has been exposed extensively to a variety of Jewish and Middle Eastern foods. “Shawarma,” he said, referring to the spicy lamb dish, which is popular in Israel. “That’s one of the things I really like.”

By Samantha Stewart

At 48 years old, Chaitu Heamenchal is a husband, father and a man with a passion for organizing. In 2001 he began working as a security officer at the office of Housing Preservation and Development on Gold Street. When he started at HPD, the 35 security officers he worked with had no union and very few benefits.

Chaitu Heamenchal, a security guard and 32BJ SEIU organizer at the Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development office in Lower Manhattan. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

“I felt that there were people working there getting nothing for the work that they did. It was too little money for the work. I felt like I wanted to do something, because I don’t like to sit on the side,” he recalled.

In 2006, a union representative for the 32BJ SEIU, the largest property service worker’s union in the country, approached Chaitu. He was asked if he would help the union organize a chapter at city HPD. Without hesitation, Chaitu accepted the challenge.

“I said, ‘Look, I’ll take it over from here. From today I will move this forward. You just tell me how I can get involved in this,’” said Chaitu.

Chaitu immediately began approaching his colleagues, urging them to mobilize and unite behind the union. Some colleagues were at first skeptical that a union would benefit them. Others were concerned about employer backlash. Still, Chaitu pressed forward.

His efforts paid off in 2008, when a new contract was signed and the security officers of HPD officially became members of the 32BJ union. Along with unionization came increased worker protections, a pay raise, health benefits, holiday pay and vacation time.

“As far as the union, he’s a life saver,” said Jon Koleszko, an HPD security officer. “He was standing out in the freezing cold handing out flyers. He was going to meetings secretly so that he wouldn’t get in trouble with his employers. He put in a lot of his personal time to make sure that all his co-workers would be taken care of and luckily we did get taken care of. Now we’ve got a union backing us up.”

Chaitu credits much of his persistence as an organizer to his father. As a young man growing up in Guyana, Chaitu was one of 14 siblings. He watched as his father worked hard to support his family. When his father wasn’t working, he was organizing his local Hindi community and teaching on the side.

“I grew up an organizer. My father was a churchman. He helped organize people to go to church. I get that from my father, to organize and to help people out,” said Chaitu. “He would be happy about my work with the union. He’d know that I was doing things to help people out. Trying to uplift people from where they are. To get them where they are supposed to be. So I think he’d be happy about it.”

His colleagues are happy about his efforts too, although his employers are not at all thrilled. “There’s really no fair way to describe Chaitu,” said Jon Koleszko, an HPD security officer. “He’s one of the people that we love and others hate. He’s effective at his job. He doesn’t take short cuts. He doesn’t allow his co-workers or subordinates to be mistreated or abused, even by his superiors. He’s just all around the type of person you want to be working with.”

When Chaitu isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his wife Vimla and his two daughters Kavita and Vanita. He’s been known to play the harmonica and the Hindu drums on occasion, much to the dismay of his daughters. “They don’t like it,” laughed Chaitu. “But I’ve got excellent kids.”

By Felipe Cabrera

When it comes to doing her job well, Bettina Herbert believes patience is important. The St. Kitts native works as a security guard for Allied Barton at 75 Rockefeller Plaza. Dealing with people who are in a rush is part of the job description. She tells her coworkers that being patient and friendly are important.

Bettina Herbert, a security guard and shop steward at Rockefeller Plaza, says celebrities in the building seldom say “Hi.” Photo by Karl Crutchfield

“I just tell the officers: breathe. Do what you gotta do and not lose your temper. Breathe,” she said. “And be friendly. When they’re being rude, kill them with kindness.”

Herbert, who lives in Parkchester, previously worked for Guard Smart. After Guard Smart refused to honor a request for benefits, Allied Barton agreed to contract the employees at her former building. She understands why some of her former coworkers decided to stay with her former employer.

“They’d been with the other company so long,” she said. “They’re loyal to it.”

She switched to Allied Barton three years ago.

“We wanted to be a union site where we can get benefits,” Herbert said. “Where we can get health insurance.” She is currently working with 32BJ SEIU to create a contract for Spartan Security, which serves the New York Public Library. She does extra work for her union as a shop steward because she believes in taking care of her family.

“Security officers have been living in injustice for too long,” she said.

Herbert enjoys her job and representing her coworkers. She likes getting to know them better, making friends and offering advice about job-related issues. When someone has a complaint, she sits down with that fellow security officer and then mediates with her building’s security manager.

Since she began working in the Time Warner building, seeing celebrities has become part of her day-to-day routine.

“You know they don’t want to say ‘hi’ to you. They’re too famous,” she said. “I must say, though, you meet a few nice ones.”

Herbert used to return to St. Kitts each year, but for the last four years she has gone to Miami for Carnival. She’d like to visit both, but free time is scarce.

Herbert enjoys living in Parkchester with her boyfriend German Mayorga, a project manager for a building renovation company, and her two children, Shania, 14, and Dario, 16. She describes her Bronx neighborhood as quiet and likes the fact that she doesn’t need to venture far to get shopping done.

When she’s not working or taking Dario to baseball or Shania to her mentoring program, she enjoys shopping at Macy’s and watching her favorite shows, like CSI: Miami and House. And she likes spending time on Facebook, which she first started using seven months ago.

“A friend of mine kept harassing me to do it,” she said. “And I’m like, ‘I won’t do it.’ And now I’m addicted.”

Herbert is looking forward to spending time with her family at Christmas. She enjoys watching her children’s faces on Christmas morning.

“I mean you get time to spend with your family. You get lots of gifts. I’m a big kid,” she said. “And my boyfriend likes to play tricks on the kids. One year what he did was take and hide all the gifts.” Another year, he wrapped all the presents in tape so the gifts would be difficult to open.

“So every year we find something new to do with the kids.”

By Bonnie Bernstein

After the Yankees won the pennant last October, Harlem resident James Greene III, 51, wore his favorite team’s hat and uniform. The Derek Jeter fan has worked at the Langston, at 68 Bradhurst Avenue, for the past five years, first as security during construction of the building, then for the last three years as the head doorman.

Roy Greene is a beloved doorman at the Langston and is also a die-hard Yankees fan. Photo by Karl Crutchfield

Greene is responsible for overseeing the condominiums’ computer system, handling mail, distributing and delivering packages and opening the door to greet the tenants.

“He genuinely seems to care about what happens in the building and to its residents,” said Nat Antman, one of those residents. “James is very proactive about anticipating problems. He is a warm and friendly person and makes living here more enjoyable and easier.”

In addition to his normal responsibilities, Greene coaches other staff members and serves as liaison when needed with management. But it is as doorman, in a busy building, that everyone knows Greene.

“James is awesome with our son Cooper. Cooper is 21 months old and James is his hero. He comes off the elevator and makes a beeline for him,” said Maria Milionis, another resident. Greene taught Cooper how to press the button on his walkie-talkie so that it beeps, which the young boy loves.

One of Greene’s favorite times of the year is when the building workers have their annual get-together with the tenants.

“I have a good time,” he said. “I find this work to be fulfilling because I’m a people person.”

The residents and Greene have bonded through, as Antman noted, “a challenging time.” This past January, they visited Greene at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, where he was battling colon cancer. Greene finally overcame the disease and came back to the job that he loves.

Milionis remembers that was all that the tenants spoke about when they ran into each other in the hallways, lobby or elevators.

“We all had the greatest concern for James and many of us called his home or sent get-well gifts,” she said.

Greene speaks with pride about how he likes “interacting with my tenants and their families and pets.”

“He enjoys the interaction with all different types of people and ages,” Antman concurred.

Milionis pays him the most sincere compliment in saying that “James Greene is a gentleman.”

Greene calls his wife, Tracy, a social worker currently attending graduate school at Yeshiva University, a wonderful woman. The couple has been married for 10 years and has four children: Jakalah, Jakari, Ashley and James IV, who is in the United States Navy in Pakistan. Greene’s parents are retired and live in North Carolina. He has three siblings.

When Greene is not at work, he loves to cook and is part of the PTA board at his children’s charter school. And he is, of course, a die-hard Yankees fan.