Published: April 14, 2010

One week from today, 30,000 doormen, elevator operators and other building employees may walk off the job, leaving residents trapped in a housing hell where pizza deliverymen must be met in the lobby and volunteer armies handle garbage duty. Yesterday the building employees rallied on Park Avenue to call attention to their plight (photo above via a Curbed tipster). Today the Times reports that both sides—the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (landlords!) and the Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union (doormen!)—will kick off marathon negotiation sessions tomorrow at a Midtown hotel to try and avoid the first union strike since 1991.

Building managers can't take any chances, of course, and so the Observer has more leaked excerpts from the building preparedness manuals being distributed to residents. An example from 830 Park Avenue: "In buildings which have automatic passenger elevators, the cars will be on automatic operation. (Instructions for operation will be posted in each car.)" Scary times, indeed.