Now the amiable doorman’s ever-expanding job will include one more task: looking out for abuse of elderly residents.
“We see everybody coming in and out,” said Mr. Marlow, 54, who has worked at Gracie Mews for 15 years. “If something’s wrong, we would notice.”
Mr. Marlow and his co-workers at Gracie Mews, a full-service building where the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $ 3,500, are part of a new program that aims to use the existing human infrastructure of city living to keep a closer eye on the elderly.
The program, which was developed by the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, offers free on-site training and assistance to doormen, concierges, porters and other building staff across New York City.
The effort to combat elder abuse comes as many buildings have growing concentrations of older residents, in part because the baby boomer generation is moving into retirement. By 2040, an estimated 21 percent of all adults in the city will be 60 or older, up from 17 percent in 2010, according to an analysis of census data by Queens College.
Joy Solomon, the director and managing attorney of the Weinberg Center, said abuse of the elderly could take many forms, like one spouse battering the other and a telemarketing scheme that drains someone’s retirement account. In a tough economy, she said, she has also seen more adults moving back in with their parents, or grandparents, and helping themselves to their Social Security benefits and assets.
Ms. Solomon said that because many of the elderly did not come forward on their own to report abuse, the center had focused on educating those around them: speech therapists, estate lawyers, even those who deliver hot meals to their homes. The new doorman program expands upon earlier presentations that she gave to a human resources class for doormen sponsored by their union.
At Gracie Mews earlier this month, Ms. Solomon dispensed advice and encouragement to a dozen doormen, concierges and other representatives from that building and a sister property, Symphony House in Midtown West, who were expected to share what they learned with co-workers unable to attend.
Ms. Solomon told them about an elderly man who was living in a building on the Upper East Side about five years ago when he became entangled with a woman who wanted to steal his money. She said the building’s staff did not stop the woman even as she took valuables from his apartment. “They knew something was wrong,” she said. “They didn’t do something when they could have. I think it’s really important to take that step.”
Several of the doormen and concierges said that while they wanted to help, they also did not want to overstep and become intrusive.
Anthony Masina, 32, a doorman and porter at the Symphony House, recalled his experience last year with a longtime resident — an widow living alone who asked him to help pay her rent. “You could tell she wasn’t O.K. to be by herself,” Mr. Masina said. “I didn’t know what to do, really.” (The building’s management eventually contacted city officials about the woman, who is receiving medical care).
James Soto, 50, who has been a concierge and doorman at Gracie Mews for 12 years, said he already worried about older residents. He said he kept track of who received regular visits from family and friends, and who did not — reminding the latter that he is there to help. If he sees a bruise, he said, he asks what happened. And last month, when an older woman came in looking flushed, he grabbed one of his water bottles to give to her. “I see her every day and we talk,” he said. “So this day I noticed she did not look herself.”
Ms. Solomon said that the center planned to roll out the doorman program in neighborhoods with large elderly populations, but would eventually provide the on-site training as often as needed at any building that requested it.
Dennis P. Brady, executive managing director for Jack Resnick & Sons, which owns and manages Gracie Mews and Symphony House, said he arranged for the training because he saw it as a benefit for both building workers and residents. “It’s a good thing to do if we can help one person,” he said.
Several Gracie Mews residents also said they liked the idea, even if it meant staff members could be prying into someone’s personal business. “I have no problem with that,” said Richard Lord, 88, a retired advertising executive. “If you see something wrong and you don’t do something about it, that’s even worse.”
In the lobby, Mr. Marlow, who could not attend the training because he was working the door, said he hoped to pick up pointers from his colleagues. He said he did not mind taking on another responsibility and, in fact, had already found himself in the awkward position of having to report to two mothers that their nannies were not watching their children. One nanny was fired, and the other was reprimanded, he said.
“I had to tell the moms,” he said. “I would feel the same thing if I saw someone abused. Basically, we already look for that without looking for it.”
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