Random New Yorker: Shaka Shervington, Maintenance Man, Future Therapist
by Andrew Piccone
Tell me about your job.
I work doing building maintenance for a luxury condo in the Financial District. A normal day can consist of cleaning or painting, a rough day can be everything from climbing into an vent to cutting holes in a wall and then patching them back up to make it look like you were never there in the first place. It really depends, sometimes you get an easy day, sometimes you don’t go home until three hours after your shift ends. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect when I started, I’ve almost been there for a year now, and I’m pretty sure by the time I’m married and I ever need anything done I can say ‘Honey, you don’t have to call anyone, I can take care of it myself.’ It’s definitely been a learning experience, nothing close to what I actually want to do for a profession, being a therapist, or a writer, or both. It has nothing to do with that, but I’ve learned a lot.
What’s the shittiest apartment/landlord situation you’ve ever been in or seen?
The condo I work for is good. There are so many slumlords in Brooklyn who are essentially vacant, they don’t do any renovation or fix anything because basically they are trying to push out the old tenants and bring in the new, wealthier tenants. They push out the old tenants and bring in the new ones. It turns into gentrification.
How do you think gentrification has affected the city?
Well to be honest, it’s a little safer. I grew up in the Bronx, I grew up in a dangerous neighborhood so its all the same to me. I go to a corner store now, I don’t think twice if I see a white person, that’s the status quo now, that’s normal. So I think the city is definitely safer, it opens the neighborhood up to more diverse offerings, a melting pot.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Octopus, not live, thank God. A friend of mine who is half-Japanese made me try it. It was not my thing. Not my cup of tea.
What is your favorite food?
Bacon, even though I decided, last week, to give it up. Bacon and I are on a little break. I’m not in as good of shape as I used to be so bacon is gone for a while.
Why is it hard to meet people in New York?
If you want to meet someone and have it last, it has to be through your friends. Your circle of friends are people that you want to spend time with, if you go to a bar and are confused as to why you can’t meet anyone significant, there’s your first problem. Your social settings play a big factor in meeting people.
Will Obama be a one-term president?
Sadly, yeah. I dont think he’s doing a fantastic job, but he could be doing a lot worse. Democrats are pretty stupid as it is, conservatives are conservatives, they’re going to bash him regardless of how he’s doing. So I think he’s screwed. I think he’s pretty much done after one term, no chance he’ll get re-elected.
Are you registered to vote?
I am. Carl Paladino is what’s wrong with New York politics. He’s a moron. I don’t know about Andrew Cuomo, but it seems like it’s more of an ‘anyone but Paladino’ situation.
What’s your all time favorite song?
“Black Star-Respiration.” It’s Mos Def and Talib Kweli. It’s about New York City, it’s my favorite. Amazing.
What’s the last movie you saw?
Buried, with Ryan Reynolds. I hated it. The whole time I watched it everything felt implausible, and none of it seemed like it could happen to this person. I look at Ryan Reynolds for jokes. I can’t take him seriously trapped in a coffin. Anyone else would have been good, but not him.
What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you?
Going to boarding school in Connecticut. Honestly, I try to think about where I’d be now if I hadn’t gotten recruited and got in. Who knows, I could still be on the streets in the Bronx. I never would’ve gone to NYU, I never would’ve met my circle of friends, who I absolutely love.
Andrew Piccone is a photographer in New York.