Seedy affairs, stingy millionaires and the night I was chased by a hammer-wielding manic: Secrets of a Park Avenue doorman revealed

A Park Avenue doorman provides scandalous insights into the lives of New York’s wealthiest elite in his shocking new memoir.

Stephen Bruno’s two-decade career began in 2004, when, at age 22, he was living in the Bronx and took a job in Manhattan that would change his life.

During his tenure at two prestigious Park Avenue buildings, Bruno, now 42, witnessed a series of eccentric behaviors ranging from racy affairs to surprising stinginess. During one particularly terrifying night shift, he was even chased by a man with a hammer.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Bruno reveals that he once caught two male tenants secretly entering each other’s apartments on different floors.

“During the night shifts, I saw a gentleman going from the 14th floor to the 7th floor at night. That one gentleman was busy with another gentleman,” he said.

“Another time, someone met a girl on the corner in a convertible. You see it all,” he added.

Bruno’s new memoir, Building Material, will be published by Harper’s on September 24, 2024.

It offers a rare glimpse into the hidden world of New York’s elite, through the eyes of the man who held the door open.

In preparation for the launch, Bruno has exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com some of his most memorable moments at work.

Before becoming a doorman at age 22, Bruno described himself as a “very immature, troublemaker.” He had been expelled from college and thrown out of his church.

Bruno’s mother had begged his brother to put in a good word for him at work.

And as a troubled young man with no motivation or direction at the time, he credits his new job with “saving his life.”

“The job saved me,” he admitted. “I was totally apathetic about my future — I had no plans. I was just breathing through life and I had a general sense of not really caring.”

“That changed almost immediately,” Bruno continued.

‘As a doorman, you have to care about everything – down to the color of your socks. The job immediately gave me structure and made me care about the little things and made me care about the big things – like schools.’

But it wasn’t all glamour and intrigue.

Bruno said his most dangerous encounter as a doorman was when he was chased by a maniac with a hammer after a night shift.

“There have been dangerous moments,” he recalls. “Once, after a night shift, around 7 a.m., a pickup truck came around the corner so abruptly and fast that I thought it was a police officer.”

‘Suddenly a man takes a hammer out of his jacket and starts chasing me.’

Eventually the maniac drove away and did the same thing again to someone else on the street.

“I almost got impaled by that hammer. That was the most dangerous situation I’ve ever been in,” Bruno confessed.

He also showed the great contrast in generosity among tenants.

While some showered Bruno with generous tips—a tenant once gave him $750 and never asked for it—others were astonishingly frugal.

A tenant recently gave him a chocolate bar for Christmas after asking for favors all year.

“It’s insulting,” Bruno said. “I give more to my coffee man.”

Bruno added that the tenants who were the most demanding and difficult were also usually the cheapest.

“When you think about the difference between how hard you work for them and how they live, and then how little you can get for Christmas – it’s insulting. At that point I’d rather have nothing at all.”

Despite the few bad apples, the tenants were generally great people who “had respect for the working man,” Bruno said.

The generous and kind people, you never forget them, he said.

But after decades of socializing with New York City’s highest social circles — and organizing fundraisers for former President Bill Clinton — Bruno’s views on wealth changed over time.

“After 20 years, I’m not so impressed by wealth anymore,” he said. “I’ve been in their homes, met their families and friends, ridden in their cars — held their babies, even walked their dogs. They’re people just like you and me.”

“Sure, they have more zeros in their bank accounts, but they also have fears, ambitions and failures.”

Bruno added that the days of idolizing the rich are over.

“You’re told to worship them with their marble floors,” he said, “but to me they’re just marble floors now.

Bruno’s journey from aimless young man to seasoned doorman was not without its challenges.

He recalled the stern words of his first superintendent in his book: “The residents are not your friends. They don’t care about you. To them, you’re just another guy who works in the building.”

Still, Bruno persevered, studying part-time and earning his English degree from John Jay College.

As he prepares for his writing career, he reflects on the lessons he’s learned.

“If I could talk to myself at 22, I would tell him not to take the job for granted,” he told Dailymail.com.

“I was lucky I didn’t get fired. Now I’m a great worker and I’m proud of what I do,” Bruno added.

‘This job has done so much for me. I wish I could have said then, “This job will do you, if you take care of the job.”‘