NYC’s Longest-Serving Doorman Celebrates 55 Years At UES Building

From CBS New York:

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Being a doorman in New York City is no easy task. Imagine doing it in your 80s.

On the corner of East 90th and Lexington sits Trafalgar House condominium, a doorman building in a city full of them. But this doorman is no ordinary one.

Manny Teixeira has been working at the same Manhattan building for more than five decades. (Photo: CBS2)

Manoel Teixeira, known as “Manny,” is celebrating two major milestones — his 80th birthday and 55 years with the building.

“I can’t describe the feeling, describe the way the people here treat me, the way they take care of me,” Manny said.

The building’s resident manager told us Manny is the longest serving doorman in New York City. He started in 1965 and even received a plaque from the city to prove it.

The thing that gets Manny up in the morning is the residents he calls family. Many of them even stopped by the lobby to drop off a belated birthday gift.

“It’s a job where the only one thing you have to do is love people,” Manny said.

It’s a sentiment he said he learned from his dad, the building’s very first doorman. Manny said he is continuing the family legacy.

“Manny treats this building and the residents as an extended family,” resident manager Garry Winters said.

“For a lot of people that walk in the morning, the first thing they see is Manny with a smiling face,” added Ben Richards, who has lived in the building for 30 years.

Longtime resident Arlene Glantz even invited Manny to her son’s wedding.

“He is a gem. He cares about every single person in this building,” said Glantz, a resident for 32 years.

And don’t be fooled by his age. Manny can still recite the name of each resident and lift 40-50-pound packages.

As for plans to slow down? There are none.

“At least another year… make it 81 and then we’ll see,” Manny said.

Until then, it’s full speed ahead.