Thanks to advancements in technology, virtual building attendants are more sophisticated than ever, allowing residents to control access to their buildings from their phones from anywhere in the world. But as a recent 2022 lawsuit shows, there is no substitute for an in-person door attendant for some. A luxury buyer accused a brokerage of misrepresenting an apartment as being in a doorman building; as there is only a virtual attendant system in place, she no longer wants the apartment and is suing to get her deposit back.

This article discusses the different types of doorman buildings and the types of services they provide, some of which can be signified by the types of uniforms they wear.

First, there are the stereotypical doorman buildings—the ones often depicted in films. These are generally luxury, pre-war buildings located on prime stretches of real estate along Park Avenue, Museum Mile, or Central Park West. In these buildings, you’ll not only find doormen but doormen dressed just like they do in the movies—in other words, wearing antiquated-looking uniforms with white gloves. These doormen will flag a cab for you in a downpour, open doors for you when you walk in or out of the building, and do basically anything else they can do, provided it is considered appropriate. But these aren’t the only doormen you’ll encounter in New York City.

Most New York City doorman buildings are co-ops, many catering to middle-income families, and few of these buildings are “white-glove.” In fact, in most doorman buildings, the staff neither wear white gloves nor suits that look they were purchased after someone wrapped production on a costume drama set in the 19th century. But don’t judge a book by its cover. Even without the white gloves and tails, these doormen still do a lot of things for residents, including accepting packages, helping with heavy lifting, and greeting you and your family as you come and go throughout the day.

The final tier of buildings that are sometimes falsely classified as doormen buildings are those staffed with 24-hour security guards. In this case, you still do have someone sitting in the entrance and monitoring who comes and goes, but technically, their job is simply security. They may be nice to you or accept your packages, but this is technically not part of any security guard’s job. And this raises an important question: What are the actual duties of a doorman versus a security guard?

To begin, if you have a doorman, you do get 24-hour security, and we’re just not talking about a sleepy guy nodding off in the corner of your building’s lobby. The best doormen know exactly who is in the building at any time. Many doorman buildings are so safe that residents don’t even always feel the need to lock their doors when running out to pick up groceries or go to the gym. But doormen do a lot more than provide security.

Doormen also carry out many convenient tasks on behalf of residents. For example, the doorman on staff always has access to your keys. If you lose your keys, they are there to ensure you can still access your unit, and they will also let your tween in if they arrive home early from school keyless. Likewise, if you’re out of town and your cousin comes to crash in your apartment, they can let in your carefully vetted guest. In addition, they are authorized to accept your packages 24/7 (that’s right, you’ll never lose an Amazon delivery again). Finally, they can give access to contractors, cleaners, and anyone else who might need to enter your apartment while you’re at work or out of town. This can be especially comforting to pied-a-terre owners.

The most important thing that doormen offer, however, is something that is much less visible—they manage effective relations. Let’s face it, New York City can be a nasty place to live. As a result, it is really nice to have someone greet you every morning, high-five your middle schooler when they come home from school, or recognize your mother and help her with her luggage when she comes to visit. Some doormen even dabble in helping tenants meet that special someone, like John Maldonado—the doorman who recently made a guest appearance in the Vows section of the New York Times after he successfully matched two residents.

In a city where nice people often appear to be in short supply, the care and courtesy of doormen is something that many New Yorkers consider priceless. But the fact that most doormen are nice is no coincidence. It really is part of their job. A recent posting for a doorman for a luxury building on the Upper West Side listed several practical skills—for example, tracking and logging the arrival of packages, opening doors, and maintaining the appearance of public areas, especially the lobby—but also listed a series of “soft skills.” This specific job posting emphasized that the right candidate will possess “excellent communication skills, have a memory for names and faces, and exhibit personal warmth toward others.”

If you want to live in a building with security and built-in personal warmth, it will cost a bit more. The cost of doormen is generally bundled in with other building fees, but on average, fees in doorman buildings do run much higher than they do in other buildings. In Manhattan, $1,400 per month is relatively low for a doorman building and fees can run upwards of $3,500 per month. Fees in buildings without doormen, by contrast, are often closer to $1,000 per month and can be much lower, depending on the neighborhood. But in a city with so many people screaming, yelling, and scowling, can you really put a price on daily personal warmth? For the thousands of New Yorkers who pay more to live in a doormen building, the answer is obvious.