SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
A walk down New York's tony Park Avenue and you can see doormen, often in long coats and stiff hats, winter and summer. They can offer tight smiles and professional greetings to the residents to whom they open the front door to posh surroundings on what might be the priciest residential block in America. Do they keep secrets under their caps, too? Stephen Bruno, who's a graduate of John Jay College and Hunter College's Master of Fine Arts program, kept mental notes over his years as a Park Avenue doorman. And he's now written his first book, "Building Material: The Memoir Of A Park Avenue Doorman." Stephen Bruno joins us now from our studios in New York. Thanks so much for being with us.
STEPHEN BRUNO: Thank you so much for having me, sir.
SIMON: Is being a doorman a good material for someone who wants to write?
BRUNO: Yeah. I would say so. Aside from it being a great job, it provides material on a daily basis, I'd say.
SIMON: It is a great job, right? You make a point of...
BRUNO: Yeah.
SIMON: ...Mentioning that in the book.
BRUNO: Well, it pays well. I paid all my tuition at John Jay College, every dime, off of my paychecks at the job. And I paid off my credit card bills - every dime. And you're not a construction worker. You're every day behind a door, and you're dealing with the community inside the building. You're not killing yourself. You're not beating yourself up compared to other jobs.
SIMON: One of the first bits of advice you received from a colleague is the residents are not your friends.
BRUNO: Right.
SIMON: What did they mean, and what are they then?
BRUNO: We consider every resident another boss. So every apartment is representative of another boss, and you have to view them that way. And you can't take it personal. Everyone's entitled to a bad day. When I run the elevator, there are residents who say hello. And then the next day, they might not say hello going into the elevator, and we shouldn't take it personal.
SIMON: You're a doorman now, too?
BRUNO: Yes, yes. Actually, my book was published on Tuesday, and I was at work from 7 to 3 (laughter).
SIMON: Oh, that's a way to mark publication. Park Avenue again?
BRUNO: Yes. And then, I celebrated that evening in an apartment in the building. I don't know if you've read the Blooms chapter.
SIMON: I want to ask you about the Blooms because they sound like a wonderful couple.
BRUNO: Yes.
SIMON: Tell us about them.
BRUNO: Beautiful. Well, Mr. Bloom is not with us any longer. I strived so hard to try to get the book published 'cause I could tell. You know, towards the end, I saw him using a walker. And I wanted him to read it. He was such a great supporter of mine. He always encouraged me. And so another family actually purchased the apartment from the Blooms once they moved out. And that family essentially picked up for them, and we had the same kind of relationship. And they actually would not have it any other way. They said they would host my publication party, my launch party, at the apartment. And so it was this surreal experience where the same place where the Blooms essentially saved my academic life and kind of revitalized my journey academically. Ten years later, I'm celebrating my publication.
SIMON: What did the Blooms do? They do sound like an exceptional couple.
BRUNO: So Mrs. Bloom, who was the more outgoing one of the two, she sensed midway through my first semester during my master's that I was down, that I was struggling. And I wasn't able to give them the news that would get them all giddy and excited. And I was ashamed. She one day said, listen, we want you over next week. There's a documentary we want to show you. And they had sandwiches and Amstel Lights and their TV room all set up. And they showed me a documentary on this gentleman, the playwright from Pittsburgh. His name escapes me at the moment.
SIMON: August Wilson.
BRUNO: August Wilson. Thank you so much, sir. Yes, a wonderful documentary. And she knew. She knew exactly what she was doing. I saw myself in August Wilson. He was this working-class individual from a rough city. No matter how far along in his career he gets, he still maintains that identity within himself and his writing. She knew that I felt like an other in the MFA. She knew that. I had told her I feel by myself. No one - you know, these ladies aren't really talking to me. And here's another gentleman. He's brown like me, ethnic like me, talented. He carved out his own path. He made his own way being himself, and I can do that, too. I'm free to do that.
SIMON: What about that line between resident and doorman? How do you see it now after your experience?
BRUNO: So I've been at this particular building now for 14 years, and we have such incredibly wonderful residents. That line is routinely crossed. And they hear about my writing, my abilities and my accomplishments and now about the book. So they consistently stop to speak to me. I'll bring them to their floor, and then we'll stay at their floor talking. I've gone out for beers with a few residents. And that's something, obviously, you don't talk about with your coworkers or other residents. You know, you maintain a casual demeanor when you're around them in the building, but you make plans on the side. Luckily for me, the line gets routinely crossed, and I break the don't-get-close rule often.
SIMON: You made a short observation in this book, and I think you weren't being funny. You said it's fun to give the wrong directions to tourists.
BRUNO: (Laughter) So I've done that multiple times unintentionally. Like, I should confer maybe with my coworker behind me, and I'll just boldly point them in a direction because I feel like I should know everything. You know, like, I'm in New York. I've been here all my life.
SIMON: Has anyone ever actually come up to you and said, how do you get to Carnegie Hall?
BRUNO: Carnegie Hall. No. They haven't asked me Carnegie - about Carnegie Hall.
SIMON: Oh, that's an old joke. You know that one - right? - don't you?
BRUNO: No, I don't know that one.
SIMON: All right. All right. You ask me.
BRUNO: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
SIMON: Practice. Practice.
BRUNO: (Laughter) I hadn't heard that one. That's a good one (laughter).
SIMON: Oh, my gosh. I'm so flattered that I can be the source of material for you.
BRUNO: (Laughter) Oh, that's a good one.
SIMON: Stephen Bruno, his debut book "Building Material: The Memoir Of A Park Avenue Doorman." Thank you so much for being with us.
BRUNO: Thank you for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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