Are Hampshire House residents really so forgetful? According to this video from “Saturday Night Live,” found via Curbed, they might be. In this skit called “What’s That Name,” a doorman of the co-op located at 150 Central Park South, played by Kenan Thompson, surprises a game show contestant (played by Paul Rudd) during a series of questions that quizzes respondents (the other whom works at Chatman Real Estate) on obvious — but often overlooked — people in their lives. The doorman challenges the contestant to recall his name, with a $10,000 prize on the line. Unfortunately, even the moniker “Norman the Doorman” is too tricky for him to recall. [more]

Doormen and other building workers will not strike after their union reached an agreement with building owners just after the midnight deadline early this morning, the union said. The four-year accord, which the union said comes with a nearly 10 percent wage increase and maintains health care benefits, is also good news for brokers who worried that a strike could have derailed open houses or showings for desirable Manhattan listings. Mayor Michael Bloomberg hailed the deal. “Tonight’s agreement is great news for 30,000 service professionals, thousands of the city’s building owners, and hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers that might have been affected by a strike,” he said. The agreement between SEIU and the Realty Advisory Board must be ratified by the union membership and the RAB’s board. Among other components, the union said the deal increases employer contributions to health care by nearly 20 percent — or $182 million — and pensions. TRD [more]

From left: Richard Grossman, Fred Peters, and Douglas Heddings

At Manhattan’s luxury buildings, doormen don’t just hold the doors — they hold the keys.

Which is why an impending strike, set to begin at midnight, could turn a lot of desirable listings into pumpkins, according to industry insiders. Without doormen, many apartments may be off limits.

So far, ongoing contract negotiations haven’t panned out between the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union, which represents around 30,000 building service workers, and the building owners’ Realty Advisory Board.

This has some in the industry nervous, according to Douglas Heddings, founder of Heddings Property Group, an affiliate of Charles Rutenberg Realty. Heddings said that the threat of a possible strike has emboldened many buyers to get in while they can.

“We have buyers now who are saying ‘I want to get in today,’ because they’re worried about having access tomorrow,” Heddings said. “Some buildings are prohibiting showings during the strike.” [more]

Seven thousand disgruntled New York City doormen and apartment building workers hit the streets last night, as the threat of a full-fledged strike loomed large, according to NY1. The workers’ union has given the Realty Advisory Board less than a week to agree to its terms (see an embedded audio story from WNYC above). The kerfuffle erupted between the two groups after the Realty Advisory Board made proposed contract changes including reduced vacation days and a mandate requiring them to pay for part of their insurance premiums. Yesterday’s march hit the Upper East Side, with workers striding down Park Avenue. [NY1] and

As many as 30,000 doormen, superintendents and porters in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island could be leaving their posts by the end of the month, according to Crain’s, as the workers’ union vote on whether they’ll strike over contract disputes. The latter three boroughs voted this week to strike if an amenable contract agreement hasn’t been reached by April 21. The Manhattan workers are expected to vote tonight. The possible strike comes after the union rejected the Realty Advisory Board’s proposed contract in March. Should the strike go through, approximately 3,200 buildings could see their staffers walk.

Are virtual doormen the wave of the future? Kent Security Services hopes so, but for the city’s approximately 30,000 doormen whose contracts expire April 20, the new technology poses a very tangible threat. While there are already hundreds of New York City buildings that employ video and audio monitoring instead of live doormen, Kent’s system adds biometrics — or scanning technology — into the mix. The biometric door works by snapping pictures of visitors at the door and comparing them to those on file. If no matches are found, a voice asks, “do you live in the building?” and uses voice recognition technology to analyze the response. If still no match is found, central security staffers phone in to check. The door costs $15,000, according to Kent’s Alon Alexander, who said the technology has yet to be seen in action. Doormen make $40,000 per year, according to their union, which is currently in talks with the city’s building owners to negotiate next year’s contracts. Still, as one West Village doorman pointed out, “a computer is not going to help tenants carry their bags.” [Post]