Tom, Cleaner, New York City
By Jonathan Zwickel
Shift Change tells the stories of ordinary people on the frontlines during a transformational period in American life. The goal of this project is to raise funds for Supply Drop Brooklyn, a charitable organization that partners with local restaurants to deliver meals to healthcare workers at affected hospitals. Your help can make a critical difference. Please visit Supply Drop and learn how you can make a contribution. For more information about this project, check out our About page.
Tom is a cleaner in New York City. This is his story.
What kind of work do you do?
Cleaner is one of the worst jobs in transit. We’re on the frontline. I don’t have the option to stay home. People are dying. We’re up to 68 casualties in transit*. We have more casualties than first responders, how about that?
Why is that?
We’re exposed more than they are. Bus operators, train operators, and conductors have been getting the virus. Everyone talks about first responders, but we’re all heroes who wake up every day and get to their job. Do I have any fear? No. I went through a lot of stuff, 9/11, different deaths. I’ve seen things. I’m numb to it.
You feel safe with the PPE you have?
Pre-corona, you had the equipment to wear. At one time you weren’t allowed to wear a mask on your face while you work because it causes mass hysteria. Now it’s mandatory to wear a mask at work. Everyone’s wearing a mask and gloves and taking care of themselves.
What are your thoughts about the future?
You remember 9/11? I was here. I’m here all my life. It changed the way you were as a person. Who did you lose? Direct or indirect? Now you know someone direct or indirect that’s affected by the virus.
In theory they’re saying we surpassed the peak; it’s plateauing now after the peak of the virus and now it’s trickling down. We had 1,500 deaths in one day, now it’s 400. But we’re still losing 400 a day. Four hundred individuals that are no longer here because of a disease. It’s gonna be in textbooks when we have kids and they have kids. They’ll talk about the pandemic of 2020. What really went on, what caused it, the government conspiracy thing about it. So many different directions, you know?
I mastered what I do, and it’s great. I know what my means of living are and that’s great. I’ve found at 42 years old the less you have, the better you think and feel about yourself.
What are you watching or listening to?
I’m not fixated, I don’t read newspapers. I’m not hung up on that. It’ll ruin your head because it’s so morbid. Why don’t we hear on TV that someone won the Nobel Peace Prize or saved someone from a burning building? The only thing on TV is coronavirus.
I work nights by myself, but if I see a supervisor, I shut it off out of respect. But I keep tunes on, I listen to music all day long: rock, and a little Frankie [Sinatra].
Visit Supply Drop Brooklyn for more information.
*For official statistics on New York mortality rates from COVID-19, visit NYC Health’s COVID-19 Data and the Fallen Heroes page.
