Dandrej

Dandrej (noun) don-d-ray

1 : a combination of the names Dana and Andrej

2 : the amazing and hard-working superintendent couple of the 140 East 2^nd Street Coop

<Dondrej’s downstairs working in the rec-room>  <thankfully, Dondrej was there to clean up the aftermath>

“You could eat off these floors,” said our new managing agent, Linda during a recent visit to the building. She’s always impressed by the cleanliness and by how much our staff cares. Linda tells me that this is one of the cleanest buildings her company manages, with among the most pleasant and hard-working staff. Our managing agents are just figuring out what we’ve known for years—that we win in the superintendent department!

Dana (pronounced Donna) and Andrej have been our staff for almost a decade, having lived here even longer than that. I’ve heard spooky stories from both shareholders and longtime renters of the state of this building when they inherited it from the last super. Disrepair and dirt from top to bottom. When they took over, they started cleaning right away and have been hard at work ever since.

Our maintenance team is made up of Dana as the super and Andrej as her part-time assistant. Also on staff are our Porter, Derrick and his as-needed assistant, Anna. Dana keeps this place amazingly clean, while Andrej takes on the rare emergency or fix-it situations that Donna can’t handle. Together, they are the dream-team. We are lucky to have them and we know it! Although Andrej is actually on-the-clock very little, he’s always around the building looking for anyone who might need some neighborly help or a dry-humored joke. He’s the eyes of 140 East 2nd and Dana is the heart.

And, what a heart Dana has! At every event, whether it is a block party or the Annual Halloween Party, Dana is cooking mouth-watering food and serving up drinks. “This is my home. I love it here,” she says. To prepare for our most recent block party Dana cooked for four days to make enough food to feed everyone! Yummy kielbasas and cabbage rolls, not to mention the chicken and pork dishes! We had an amazing home cooked Polish feast, catered by our fantastic staff and their family! I loved sitting out there eating all that amazing food. It felt like home.

Dana and Andrej’s love for our little community is rivaled only by their love for the families who live here. It seems like every child in the building knows and adores Andrej and Dana– and the feeling is mutual. When we were installing the rec-room last year, I had some wish list items that I thought would need to wait due to the budget. I wanted a viewing window for the door and a new fan to circulate air. Two days after mentioning it to Dana I got a knock at my door. It was Andrej saying there was something I needed to see in the basement. Of course, he had gone out and bought a fan with his own money and installed a Plexiglas window as well.

According to Rachael who lives on the third floor, Dana and Andrej must be the best thing since sliced bread. “Even the basement is so clean that your kids can crawl on the floor. They are amazing.” She also went on to say that she “couldn’t imagine the building without them.”

Robin, from the fourth floor told me that “recently Andrej fished my keys out of the elevator shaft!! I couldn’t believe it.” She went on to say “Even though… they are not required to do so, Andrej fixed my toilet and installed my stove when I moved.” If that’s not going above and beyond, I don’t know what is.

Helen, a resident of almost two years said, “They are so thoughtful and genuine.” That statement sums them up perfectly. They are good, wholesome, hard-working people who treat this building with respect and love.

I can’t count the times that they’ve accepted deliveries for people, checked on pets, fixed leaky sinks and faucets, opened up the basement after hours, checked in on someone who is ill, bought flowers for the building, silenced creaky doors, unclogged a drain, stopped a toilet from running, and hooked up a new appliance— because they are good neighbors and to them, we are all a family.

According to Alex, an owner for about 4 years “One of the many times they have helped us was when we were locked out of the apartment. They found a ladder and got us in through an unlocked window. They are always there for us when we need them. Amazing neighbors and wonderful superintendants. The super at our last place would have told us to call a locksmith, which would have cost us hundreds!”

Mark could tell they cared the moment he walked in the door “It was obvious when we first came to look at this building that the Supers treated this as a home, not just a job.  They keep this building clean and safe, and they even feed our cat when we’re away!”

Christine sent me a long list of times Andrej and Donna have helped her out. Once, she called them from work to blow out a forgotten burning candle. They also moved her car for her while she was on vacation! When Christine introduced her family to our staff, Donna “welcomed my parents and sister to the building with hugs and kisses.” The list goes on to talk about assisting with contractors and fixing things around her apartment.

It’s this kind of dedication and good old-fashioned kindness that make our staff so beloved in the building. Many of my friends complain that their supers are missing-in-action most of the day and totally unavailable after 4pm or on weekends. It’s a phenomenal perk to have staff who we can count on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year—always with a smile and always willing to help… even at 3am when you’ve locked yourself out of the building.

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