By Andrea Sachs

It’s known as the “graveyard shift,” the “lobster shift,” or, simply, the “night shift.” Most doormen avoid it at all cost — although it sometimes includes a salary sweetener — or they move out of it as soon as they have enough seniority. But in 1994, when Craig Davis applied for a job as a doorman in my building on the Upper West Side that was his shift of choice, and it has remained so for 31 years.

Being a night doorman five days a week from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. is a lifestyle and a discipline. Davis keeps distinct hours even when he’s off. “At noon or 1 p.m. I go to sleep until 7:45 or 8 p.m.”…