For Yosauris Mariano, Every Day is an Opportunity

“Here, if you want to do better in life, you can do it. Every day is an opportunity to get what you want,” said Yosauris Mariano. In the Dominican Republic “you can work hard and still not get what you want.” When she first immigrated at 18 years old, her first impression was that of opportunity.

Yosauris is nothing if not hard working. In the 15 years since she first arrived, she has worked, by turns, as an assistant manager at a leather-belt factory, a cleaner at CitiField, and a security guard at JFK, sometimes commuting hours from her home in Queens. For the past five years, she has worked as an office cleaner at Court Street, an office and apartment complex in downtown Brooklyn.

And the work has paid off. Yousaris now lives in Far Rockaway with her husband and mother.

“We work hard,” said Yosauris. And it’s nice to be recognized for that, she explained.

Mariano’s day begins as others end. After an hour-long drive, Mariano arrives at Court Street at 4 p.m., changes into her work clothes and puts together her cleaning cart. She cleans office by office, floor by floor, until 10 p.m.

She works, for the most part, alone.

“I like my independence,” she said. “You might have a supervisor, but in the end, you are the person responsible for what you’re doing.”

Her favorite day of the week would have to be Friday. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family at home and going to the beach. Work may be far from Far Rockaway, but the ocean is near.

And though at times she misses the Dominican Republic for its climate, it’s casualness, it’s different attitude, she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. “I’ve been here for 20 years,” she said. “New York is my home.”