What is the most challenging part of your job?

Yolanda Cruz, school bus driver, Phillip Bus Corp.

What is the most difficult part of your job?

You have to be 100 percent informed. No matter how good you think you are, there are other drivers who are not. We need twenty eyes on the road. My responsibility is to the children on my bus and to my matron. (She indicates Nurka Batistathe matron or school bus conductor.) Their lives are in my hands.

So your hardest job is being a defensive driver, not controlling the kids.

Nurka is the matron, so her job is to keep the children under control. My job is to make sure we get to and from the country safely.

Jonathan Packin, manager, D&M Lumber

How did this company start?

My grandfather was a Holocaust survivor and he came to New York from Latvia and started this company from scratch. It was originally a lumber company in Williamsburg. We now import and manufacture hardboard. It is a family business. My father still officially works here. My brother and my uncle work here….

Who are your customers?

We mainly do business with wholesalers.

What do you do for the company?

I do everything. Lately I have been busy selling specialty items. I drive a forklift, as you saw.

You drive a truck.

Yes, I drive a truck. I do everything that needs to be done.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

(Smiles) You mean something other than working with my family?

(Laughs) Even including that.

No, really, the most challenging part of my job has been dealing with the traffic here lately. Ever since they started working on the BQE (Brooklyn Queens Expressway) things have gotten crazy. From here it can be an hour’s drive to Atlantic Avenue. And I’m not happy with the congestion charges they’re putting in place in Manhattan. But the good news is that the city is taking over the operation of the Marine Terminal. They take over from the Port Authority.

I didn’t even know about it! When did that happen?

They only announced that last week. They are going to renovate the piers and do a lot of other things here.

This is a great location for a business. It’s huge.

Want to see the back of the Queen Mary?

Certainly. I can see the front of it from my bedroom window….Wow. It is the size of a small town.

Grant Vernon, Contributor, Open Invitation (Gift Shop)

How long has this store been here?

Mary Rose (Wiley), one of my best friends in college, started this store in Texas about five years ago, but the store didn’t realize its full potential there. She moved here during the pandemic and the store is doing a lot better here. I think Red Hook has a special magnetism. People want to spend a day here to feel like they are not in New York.

The store is very attractive. You have a lot of beautiful things, and it is very well organized. Where do you get your stuff?

Mary Rose travels all over the tri-state area, visiting estate sales, thrift stores and the like. About 80 percent of our stuff is vintage and second-hand, and the rest is basically new. Some of it was made by local artists, ceramists, people from the neighborhood.

What is the most challenging part of your work life overall?

Mary Rose needed someone to fill in at the store while she was traveling, so I’ve been working here for a few months. I also worked as a personal assistant for a writer/director couple, a married couple. I love them, but after ten years it’s time for a reset. So I gave them two weeks’ notice, and now instead of literally working seven days a week, I can work here Thursday through Sunday and spend the rest of the time on my art.

What kind of art do you do?

I am a photographer and I also write a lot. I write a lot about growing up in Texas and catching lizards and living that kind of outdoor life and being drawn to all these little creatures. I’m working on a collection of bug stories.

Um, what?

I’m a big insect guy. I have nine spiders and this past year I have been breeding worms and turning them into butterflies. One of my tarantulas eats hornworm caterpillars –

What is this tarantula called?

Louise. One day last summer she didn’t want one of the caterpillars anymore, so I took it out again and made a house for it, and it dug in and formed a cocoon. And about five weeks later, there was this beautiful tomato hawk moth in the tank! She lived in my room for a while, and after her wings were fully developed, I opened my window, and she flew to the window and came back. And after a few nights she just left. Since then, I’ve become obsessed with that process and watching life become something completely different. I go to the pet stores and look for that particular caterpillar, and I bring them home and sometimes they burrow in that same night because they think it’s time.

You told me earlier that your boyfriend is moving in with you this weekend. I assume he knows all about these activities?

(Laughs) Oh yeah.

Dawn Skeete, owner/operator of Jam’It Bistro

How long have you had this restaurant?

We have been here since 2019.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

I’ll say what the challenge is in running a business here in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Where we are, there is absolutely no pedestrian traffic, and without pedestrians you can’t do business, so we had to figure out how we were going to proceed. Thank God I have a husband, but I, Dawn, have a salary to pay. I can make enough money now to keep everyone paid, but I have to pay myself too. So we had to figure out how to move forward, and technology has given us the opportunity to reach our customers. We can offer delivery services, and we can offer catering services, and it doesn’t matter where they are. Our customers can reach us via social media, via the internet, anywhere.

When I ordered my food you asked if I take SNAP or EBT.

Yes. We filled out the paperwork and went through the process. It took maybe three to four weeks, and they sent me an approval. So now we’ve switched to our POS system and can handle payments when people come in to buy their food. And we’ve diversified our menu to some extent because we’re a Jamaica-focused restaurant, but in this area we have a diverse community of people. We have added a family plan, so now you can buy a family pack for four. But we didn’t just create these packages for the people who use the EBT, but for everyone. Because from an economic point of view, everyone feels it.

Yes. It’s very tough out there. But it’s amazing how proactive you’ve been to keep your business going. You came up with all these programs. Have you always worked for yourself?

I worked in corporate America for 17 years.

(Laughs) That explains a lot. Now this is all coming together.

Yes. I worked for TIAA-CREF, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it; they are the largest pension fund company in the world. I worked my way through that company and became the first Black person to be promoted internally to a management/consultant position. But then they moved part of the operation (away from New York), and my husband and I were already based in New York, and if I made that move it would have (affected) his salary, and I didn’t want that doing. that to him. So I decided to stay here. My family – uncles and aunts – have been in the Jamaican restaurant business forever. So it was easy for me to get into this profession.

It’s in your blood.

Yes, exactly. It’s in my blood.

Alex Vaughn, plumber for Local One (New York City plumbers union), IMP Plumbing and Heating Company.

How long have you been a plumber?

I am in my third year of the course.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

It has to do with the weight of everything. We do many large-scale jobs.

For example?

For example, if MTA is shut down because the tracks are being worked on, we need to bring our tools and materials to these tracks. So before the scheduled downtime, we need to load our equipment and materials onto our truck and take them to a train yard.

Where is the train yard?

The nearest train station is number 38^e Street (behind the MTS bus depot). And then we load all our equipment onto a train, which takes it to the shutdown location.

What kind of train is it?

It looks a bit like a subway without doors.

So then you go to that location and meet the train with your gear on it? What kind of work do you do once you’re there?

It depends what the job is. It could be anything from working on the sprinkler line, which typically covers the entire station, or working on the discharge. All rainwater that enters the station is drained through our pipes and dumped outside.

I just pictured you working on the bathroom in someone’s house.

(Laughs) That’s domestic plumbing. We do some residential plumbing, but we are primarily a commercial plumbing company.

You have to learn an awful lot.

I mean yes.

Raj Timel, heavy tow truck operator, Richmond Towing.

I don’t know if I qualify for this newspaper. I don’t live in Red Hook and my business is not officially in Red Hook. I work on the highways.

But you’re in Red Hook now, here on Hamilton Avenue. So right now you are a Red Hook person.

Okay then.

How long have you been a tow truck driver?

I have been a tow truck driver for 26 years.

Twenty-six years? Wow. What exactly is your task?

To patrol the highways. We deal with disabled vehicles – cars, trucks, anything disabled.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

Most crazy things happen at night, when traffic is flowing. If we are faced with rollovers that block the entire highway, there is great pressure to clear the highway.

Give me an example of one of the most stressful jobs you’ve had recently.

A few months ago we had a tanker roll over on the BQE. We had to roll it back, clean up the spill, the mess…

You had to roll a tanker back onto its…

Wheels. Yes.

Wow! How long did it take you?

Prep maybe 45 minutes, getting him back on track maybe 50 minutes.

Mike Doleh, manager and operator, Stop 1 Supermarket

I am very busy! I’m expecting a call in a few minutes!

But it only takes two minutes! Literally two minutes!

Okay, honey. What do you want to know?

What is the most challenging part of your job?

Dealing with the winter months when business is slow. That’s the hardest part of my job.

Do you have anything to add about your work?

No, that takes care of it.

Okay thanks. Now I’m going to take a picture of you.

No pictures!

Come on! Look how nice you look.

Only if we do it together. That’s the only way I’ll do it.

Okay, let’s take a selfie.

(Mike takes the selfie).

Oh nice! Look at the two of us! Okay, so go take your phone call. Thank you, dear, for taking the time to talk to me when you’re busy.

Naturally. You know that I love you.

I love you too. I will say in the column that we are friends.

No friends. We are family!