Big Apple Apartment Building Suspends Veteran Doorman – for Bad Breath

His offense? Bad breath.

The New York Daily News reported that Cooper Square Realty, the management firm overseeing the apartment building at 525 E. 89th Street suspended doorman Jonah Seeman for having “severe breath odor while on duty.” Seeman, who has manned the apartment building’s door since 1967, was also suspended for a day in May and again in July.

Officials with Cooper Square Realty, the apartment management company, did not return calls seeking comment, according to the newspaper.

For his part, Seeman denies his breath is worse than most and says he’s taken steps to alleviate the problem. “I’m not using garlic anymore,” the 60-year-old Seeman told the Daily News. “I use mouthwash and I use breath mints on the job.”

He’s even seen a doctor about it, according to the newspaper. “He’s fine. It’s just bad breath,” Dr. Dean Giannone, a Staten Island internist, told the newspaper, adding that Seeman’s bad breath is nothing extraordinary.

Resident Adam Reingold also defended his doorman. “His job, which he does well, is opening the door – not to be opening his mouth,” Reingold, told the Daily News.

Seeman said he can’t understand why after 40 years on the job management is now accusing him of bad breath. “This really hurts me. I don’t want to be out of a job,” he told the newspaper.

The union that represents Seeman, Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, has filed a grievance in the case.