At Your Door: The Doormen Of New York City

New York City may be famous for the hustle and bustle around its prestigious skyscrapers but let’s not forget the hard working people who make up this amazing city. Iconic amongst these are the doormen who work for some of the finest hotels and apartment buildings in Manhattan. A photography exhibition titled At Your Door: The Doormen Of New York City is being presented to Sydney-siders as a unique reflection on 13 doormen who migrated to New York City from Eastern Europe and their journeys leaving behind their status and everything familiar to them.

City Hub spoke to New York based photographer Alina Gozin’a on why she chose to capture doormen specifically from Eastern Europe.

“Because there seems to be a large proportion of them from that part of the world. Back in the day the majority of doormen were from an Irish background, then in the 70s a lot were Hispanic and then it changed to Eastern Europeans after the breakdown of the USSR in 1989. It was a lot safer than driving taxis or washing dishes. Doormen are protected by the unions and are well educated and well mannered people so they are always in high demand.”

Gozin’a came to the project by default as she discovered that every second doorman in Manhattan she met was Eastern European and she herself has a Russian background. It’s an exhibition that explores the history of migration to America and the untold stories of some of the men who make New York City run.

Until Dec 16. Wentworth Galleries, GPO building, 1, Martin Place, Sydney. Info: www.doormenofnewyork.com

By Daniel Jaramillo.