Residents at a swanky Midtown West condominium near Billionaires Row are getting a crash course in DIY living this week after their building staff walked off the job, leaving million-dollar apartment owners to open their own doors and haul their own trash.
The seven-member staff at Hudson Hill Condominium at 462 W. 58th St. began picketing Wednesday after an 18-month battle with the condo board for a contract with 32BJ SEIU, the union representing thousands of doormen, porters and superintendents across the Big Apple.
The workers voted to join the union at the end of 2024 to boost hourly wages. Since then, they say, the condo board hasn’t come to the table to finalize a contract in good faith.
“Sometimes you’ve gotta strike for what’s right,” the building’s lead doorman, Terrence Jackson, told The Post from the picket line.
Jackson has worked at the building for 17 years. He enjoys his job but wants some job security as he faces retirement.
“I’ve dedicated myself to this place,” Jackson, 52, said. “I’m just asking for the same in return. I’ve been there for them and I’m asking them to be there for me and my family.”
During COVID, Jackson worked six days a week and took no time off.
“I cared for residents when they were too scared to even open their front doors,” he said, bringing groceries into their homes himself.
He regularly does favors for residents too, from walking their dogs to feeding their cats to putting their medication in the refrigerator.
Building maintenance worker Henry Santana also worked full time during COVID, recalling additional duties like wiping down every apartment doorknob in the building.
The 36-year-old has been unable to get knee surgery since a 2023 injury because he can’t pay the $6,500 deductible or afford to be out of work.
“I’m going to be out for a while and I don’t have no 401-k or anything to pull for them while I’m away because worker’s compensation is only $170 a week,” Santana, a father of two, told The Post.
The union would provide 100 percent employer-paid insurance and guaranteed paid sick leave and paid time off while he recovers.
A recent union contract victory secured historic wage and pension increases while protecting health care for 34,000 residential building service workers across the city.
The union alleges the condo board has violated federal labor law and owes workers more than $100,000 in unpaid prevailing wages, tied to a since-expired tax abatement that required prevailing wage payment. 32BJ SEIU is taking legal action to pursue the back pay, a spokesperson for the union’s New York chapter said.
Five apartments in the 10-story, 67-unit building are currently on the market, ranging from a 760-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bath asking $900,000 to a 1,635-square-foot three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath asking around $2.2 million.
Completed in 2008, the elevator building’s amenities include full-time doormen, a concierge, a gym and an outdoor seating area.
“Every day, the residents of 462 W. 58th St. trust these workers with the most important part of their lives, their homes,”Kevin Stavris, executive vice president of 32BJ SEIU said in a statement.
“Concierges, doorpersons and handypersons make sure the building is clean, safe, and comfortable. So it’s downright insulting that the condo board continues to deny these workers the wages, health care and pensions they need to support their families.”
A rally is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Sequoia Property Management, which manages the building, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
