Table Of ContentDOORMEN
PETER BEAB iAN
DOORMEN
FIELDWORK ENCOUNTERS AND DISCOVERIES
AserieseditedbyRobertEmersonandJackKatz
DOORMEN
Peter Bearman
The UniversityofChicagoPress/ChicagoandLondon
PeterBearmanischairoftheDepartmentof
SociologyatColumbiaUniversityanddirector
oftheInstituteforSocialandEconomicResearch
andPolicy.
TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Chicago60637
TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Ltd.,London
©2005byTheUniversityofChicago
Allrightsreserved.Published3005
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
14 13 12, 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
1 2 3 4 5
isbn:0-226-03969-2(cloth)
isbn:0-226-03970-6(paper)
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Bearman,PeterS.,1956-
Doormen/PeterBearman.
—
p.cm. (Fieldworkencountersanddiscoveries)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
—
isbn0-226-03969-2(cloth:alk.paper)
isbn0-226-03970-6(pbk.:alk.paper)
1.Apartmentdoorkeepers. I.Title. II.Series.
HD8039.B895B42 2005
305.9*6472—dc22 2004028621
©Thepaperusedinthispublicationmeetsthe
minimumrequirementsoftheAmericanNational
—
StandardforInformationSciences Permanence
ofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials,
ansi Z39.48-1992.
ForNora
CONTENTS
Preface ix
1 InterpersonalClosenessandSocialDistance 1
2 AFootintheDoor 38
3 ServingTime 64
4 CrossingtheLine 102,
5 StatusDisplays 139
6 TheBonus 171
7 TheUnion 206
8 Conclusion 247
Appendix: StudyDesign(andSomeNotesonTeaching
Field-BasedClasses) 263
LiteratureCited 277
Index 283
PREFACE
Many books are reported bytheir authors to have a longhistory. This book
is anexceptiontothe general rule. But, aswithallthings, one canlookback
to abeginningofsorts andtellastory. Here is astoryofthisbook. In 1987 I
cameup to Columbia Universityfrom Chapel Hill, NorthCarolina, to give a
talk. Intheevening, Iwastomeetthechairofthesociologydepartment, Ron
Burt, at his apartment. Fromtherewewere goingout for dinner. I was late
gettingtohisapartment. I hadalreadyarrivedatthe conclusionthatcoming
to Columbia at that time was a mistake, and I compounded the problem by
makingaseriesofbaddecisionsallevening. Fearofthesubwayledmetotry
to take ataxi. But I wasn'tvery successful. Now I find it somewhat amusing
to watchtourists in NewYork Cityhail a taxi. Theyhave a certain hesitancy
that seems to invite taxi drivers to pass right by them. Back then it wasn't
funny, and as hard as I tried, I couldn't seem to get a taxi to stop. Inability
to hail ataxiled meto decide I might aswelljustwalk.And I hadalongway
to go. Burt's apartmentwas on Riverside Drive. Itwas a cold andwet night,
andthewind offthe river made walkingup the sidewalk especially painful.
Alight rain, almost sleet, cast aneerie silence onthe street. As I walked up
Riverside, I sawfewsignsoflife. Theneighborhoodwasdeserted.
I finally arrived at the building, entered through the first set of doors,
found Ron's name, and pushed the buzzer. As I was talking to him on the
house phone, a shadowy figure appeared at the outer door and started to
come in. I don't remember much about what he looked like. I remember
thinkingthenthatI shouldtryto getagoodlookso I couldpickhimoutofa
police lineup, but I didn'twant to let him see that I was lookingat him. He
waswearinga dark raincoat. I brieflysawa large hat coveringhis face. As I
reached for the door, waitingto be buzzed in, I positioned myselfto block
his entry. The door buzzed, I slid to the right, opened it, and tried to slide
through. Behindme I couldhearhimsayingsomething.As Igotthroughthe
door, hishand reached outandgrabbed it. I knewthat I neededto stop him
from enteringthe building, and so slashing at his arm, I broke his grip on
the door, slammed it shut, and raced for the elevator. Luckily, the elevator
was waiting on the first floor. Looking back through the door, I could see
that he had his hand back through and that, somehow, he had managed to
push the inner door open. The elevator door closed and I went up to the
ix
"
x Preface
tenth floor. I pushed the buttons forfloors 11 to 14. I figured that thisway,
the elevatorwould continue to go up before itwent backdownto the lobby,
givingme more time to find and get into the apartment. As it turned out, it
was no problem findingthe apartment. There were just two to a floor, and
myhost'snamewasonthedoor. HeopenedrightawayandIspedin, relieved
tobesafebutalsostillextremelyworried.
Duringthe first fewminuteswe were inthe apartment, I told Ronabout
theguywhohadbrokeninandhowIhadfearedthathewouldfollowmeup. I
wasespeciallyworriedbecauseIwasafraidhemighthavethoughtIhadseen
his face andtherefore had motivationto figure outwhatfloor I hadgoneto.
I knewthat Ronhadlittle children, and Iwasworriedthat I mighthave also
put them at risk. I felt bad that I hadn't made sure that the doorwas really
closed behind me. Ron seemed concerned, too, and asked me to describe
the intruder. I didthebest I could—buttherewas notmuchto say. The coat
andthehatobscuredmostofhispersonalfeatures,andIreallyhadn'tgotten
a good look at his face. But, somehow, I had said enough for Ron. He went
to the phone and made a call. When he returned, he saidthat we neededto
getmovingsincewewerelate. Onthewaydownthe elevator, IthoughtI saw
himfumblingforhiswallet. IthoughtI shouldfollowhisleadandsoshifted
mywalletfrommybacktomyfrontpocket forextrasafety.Thedooropened
,
to the lobby. Directlyinfront ofuswas the intruder; he hadn't followed me
up, buthe hadwaitedformeto come down.As I steppedback, Ronstepped
forwardand (Ibelieve) handedhimsomemoney.
"I'msorry,"hesaid. "Hedidn'tknowwhoyouwere.Youscaredhim.
"That's okay," he said. "I tried to keep him out ofthe building, but
hejustpushedmeaway. Itwasmyfault."
ThatwasthefirstdoormanI evermet.
ItwouldbeelevenyearsbeforeIreturnedtoColumbia.WhenIcameback
to NewYork, I was a little more sophisticated, but not much. The city had
changed. Nolongerdiditseem(tome) reasonabletothinkthateverycorner
was a potential minefield replete with crack-crazed killers. The crime rate
waslower; the citywasinarenaissance.Andthistime, instead ofcriminals
everywhere, I sawdoormen everywhere. Onthe streetwhere ourtemporary
apartment was located, there were always at least four doormen out at any
one time. In our building we had doorman service from 4:00 p.m. until
midnight. Withinthe first few days, the doormenlearned our names. They
recognized my kids and started to keep an eye on them. And they were
