Hats off to the city’s top doorwoman!
Sinoun Bun has worked at 300 E. 77th St. for 15 years, and her dedication and hard work paid off Tuesday when she received the Doorwoman of the Year award at the 12th edition of the Building Service Worker Awards, organized by 32BJ SEIU and Straus News. Twenty other awards were given out Tuesday, including Super of the Year, Window Cleaner of the Year and School Cleaner of the Year.
Bun, who also goes by “Lisa” at work, described herself as an independent, hardworking woman who doesn’t mind going the extra mile, and who refuses to miss out on opportunity.
"I love my job," she said. “If a tenant asks me to do something for them, grabbing a newspaper, watching their kids, I don’t mind. . . . I never say no to nothing — I work my shift, I’ll do my extra shifts, I’ll do overnight shifts.”
Bun came to the U.S. as a Cambodian refugee in August 1983.
“I was really young, I just remember getting away from home and going from place to place,” she recalled.
After living in Thailand and the Philippines, her family ultimately came to New York and settled in the Bronx. She still calls the borough home today.
“It’s just so peaceful. Even though there’s so much crime, it’s just home over here, I love it,” Bun said. “I’ll never abandon the Bronx. It’s comfortable. If you go somewhere else, it’s just weird.”
Bun raised her four children — now 17, 22, 25 and 28 years old — on her own, and said they are her motivation to keep working. All four were in attendance Tuesday to cheer her on.
“Sometimes I do want to give up, because it is hard, being a single mom. sometimes I just want to quit," she said. "But I’ll always remember them, they’re my gold.”
In addition to the challenges of motherhood, Bun has sustained a successful career in a predominantly male field.
“Being a doorwoman, you can get comments saying, ‘You don’t deserve this kind of job,’ but I always think that if [men] can do it, I can do it too. Any young woman can do it too,” she said.
Bun emphasized that although the recognition won’t change the way she works, she hopes her children and others will be inspired by her story.
“I tell my daughter, ‘You have to be an independent woman and you have to try so hard.’" Bun said. "Just be patient, be strong, you can get to wherever you want.”
