May Work Anniversaries
On a monthly basis, NYCHANow recognizes the staff who’ve achieved more than five years of service, in multiples of five. Congratulations to the employees who reached these milestones in May!
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Highlighted
Remembering Kisha Jackson
In April, the NYCHA community lost a beloved colleague. Kisha Jackson changed the lives of thousands of employees and residents during her more than 20 years of service. Over the past four years, Ms. Jackson connected residents to life-changing opportunities in her role as a REES Zone Coordinator for Downtown Brooklyn. She was also lauded… MORE
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NYCHA Changemakers
Get to know the first group of NYCHA Changemakers – employees who use our core values to create meaningful, sustainable change in every aspect of their work.
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Kudos, Mr. Clemente
Tammy Daniels certainly knows good customer service when she sees it – she’s a customer service supervisor in NYCHA’s Human Resources Department. She’s also a lifelong resident of Riis Houses in Manhattan who was in need of some assistance during Winter Storm Toby, one of the many Nor’easters to bring snow and icy conditions to… MORE
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You’re Hired!
More than 180 job seekers attended a job fair at 90 Church Street’s 5th Floor Ceremonial Room on April 11, hoping to get a position at NYCHA as a maintenance worker, heating plant technician (HPT), oil burner specialist, or housing assistant. And almost all of them received job offers by the end of the event.… MORE
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Erenisse Tavarez: NYCHA’s First Women’s History Month Awardee
Erenisse Tavarez, Acting Senior Vice President for Operations, was honored as the first-ever recipient of NYCHA’s Women’s History Month award. Chair Shola Olatoye presented the award to Ms. Tavarez along with a proclamation of gratitude from Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Public Housing. “We are so honored to thank you… MORE
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Leroy Williams: Service Superstar
On April 5, Leroy Williams received the 2017 Excellence in Customer Service Award from the Mayor’s Office of Operations at a ceremony at NYPD headquarters. Over his 20 years of service, Mr. Williams has become known to many employees and residents alike. NYCHANow spoke to him about the award, his career at NYCHA, and what… MORE
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Celebrating Years of Success
Roseann and Kenneth Case are celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary in October. And on March 30, they celebrated their last day of work at NYCHA. Both worked for the Queens/Staten Island Property Management Department – Kenneth as a supervisor painter and Roseann as a secretary. Between the two of them, they have 50 years of… MORE
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March Work Anniversaries
On a monthly basis, NYCHANow recognizes the staff who’ve achieved more than five years of service, in multiples of five. Congratulations to the employees who reached these milestones in March!
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Snow Day Cleanup
NYCHA staff arrived to work at 7 a.m. the morning of the March 21 nor’easter to begin snow removal, keeping our residents safe. Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye checked in with Smith Houses staff and Resident Association President Aixa Torres. Chair Olatoye and General Manager Vito Mustaciuolo also visited Jefferson Houses with Mayor Bill de Blasio and… MORE
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NYCHA Celebrates International Women’s Day
Dear Colleagues, Today is International Women’s Day, an annual commemoration to celebrate women’s accomplishments and bring worldwide attention to discrimination against women. NYCHA’s creation is in large part due to the work of larger-than-life women like Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of New York and then the United States, and Mary K. Simkhovitch, president of the… MORE
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Spotlight on IT Department Employee Nina Winer
As a member of NYCHA’s IT Project Management Office, Nina Winer knows that information security is the responsibility of every single NYCHA employee. She strives to show employees how, through careful and intelligent use of technology, we can help safeguard NYCHA’s systems and data while fulfilling our mission of providing safe, clean, and connected housing… MORE
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Four Years of Progress Under Chair & CEO Shola Olatoye
Over the past four years, under the leadership of Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye, NYCHA has made critical advancements to improve customer service, repairs, and permanent renovations. Listen to NYCHA employees and residents talk about the Authority’s progress.
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Pairs with Purpose
In October, Deputy Director for Community Safety Strategies Andre Cirilo organized a fundraiser on Staten Island that raised more than $1,000 and collected nearly two dozen boxes of supplies for victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Recently, he and members of NYCHA’s Culture & Arts Exchange employee organization partnered with Why Not Care, a… MORE
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Black History Month
Dear Colleagues, February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the major contributions African Americans have made to all facets of American life, from the advancement of equal rights to excellence in the arts and sciences. We remember those who came before us, whose perseverance in the face of adversity continues to inspire. And… MORE
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Safeguarding Our Seas
Daryl Grey, a 14-year NYCHA veteran, supervises a team of four technicians who configure and deploy Android smartphones and tablets and perform high-level repairs at the Authority. As a volunteer, Mr. Grey also commands a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Auxiliary flotilla (unit) based in Sheepshead Bay. He appoints the Flotilla Staff Officers, leads and supervises… MORE
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January Work Anniversaries
On a monthly basis, NYCHANow recognizes the staff who’ve achieved more than five years of service, in multiples of five. Congratulations to the employees who reached these milestones in January!
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Working Up a Storm
Even before “Bomb Cyclone” Grayson arrived in New York on January 4, many NYCHA residents were struggling with heat and hot water outages across the five boroughs due to an early cold spell that began just after Christmas, testing NYCHA’s aging infrastructure. In response to the extremely cold weather, NYCHA staff have been working 24/7 to… MORE
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Now That’s NextGen!
It was a typical day for Dominique Derville, a housing assistant at the CCC Walk-in Center in Brooklyn, as she cheerfully answered the questions of residents and Section 8 voucher holders and made sure they understood the information she provided. Little did she know, however, that some of these residents were really staff from the… MORE
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Bring It On Home
This fall, NYCHA’s softball team, the Skyliners, really knocked it out of the park. This is the first time in their four-year history that the Skyliners won an NYC Government Softball League playoff game, beating the Human Resources Administration. The weekly games aren’t just a good way to show off athletic skills and blow off… MORE
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Chair Olatoye “In Focus” on NY1
Chair & CEO Shola Olatoye discussed NYCHA’s lead-based paint compliance program with Cheryl Wills on “In Focus,” a NY1 news program. The segment aired on December 10, but you can watch it below. Cheryl Wills grew up in Hammel Houses in the Rockaways.
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New Chief Compliance Officer
On November 20, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the appointment of Edna Wells Handy to the New York City Housing Authority’s Executive Compliance Department as Acting Chief Compliance Officer. Handy will begin full-time in December. Handy currently serves as legal Counsel to the NYPD Commissioner, and previously served as Commissioner of the City’s Department… MORE
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Lending a Hand to Americans in Need
J.A. Stakenburg, Director of NYCHA’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM), spent 15 days in Puerto Rico to help the island recover from the catastrophic destruction of Hurricane Maria. The co-lead and operations section chief of an interagency team sent by the State of New York to assist, Mr. Stakenburg managed the efforts of experts from… MORE
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Building Bonds of Trust
James Scanlon, Vice President, Capital Projects/Planning and Design: On October 19, several staff members from the Capital Planning Group in Capital Projects accompanied me on a site visit to Rutgers Houses to spend time with frontline staff and to acknowledge Customer Service Week. We were greeted professionally and enthusiastically by the management office staff, including… MORE
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Good Service Comes in 34 Languages
NYCHA’s Language Bank Volunteers provide language assistance to the Authority’s limited English proficient residents, applicants, and Section 8 voucher holders, ensuring they have access to information and resources in their original languages. On October 20, 2017, these employee-volunteers were recognized for their service. NYCHA’s Language Bank began in 1990 with 44 employee-volunteers who spoke eight… MORE
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Pomonok Houses Builds a Playground
On November 4, volunteers transformed an unused recreational area at Pomonok Houses in Queens into a safe, fun, beautiful playground. It took just six hours for residents, neighbors, and volunteers from NYCHA, KaBOOM!, Playworld, and JetBlue to pour and lay concrete, paint a basketball court and playground floors, and assemble playground equipment to build a… MORE
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New Floor-Cleaning Machines Promote Efficiency in Building Maintenance
Janitorial staff at Ingersoll Houses spent a day learning how to use new floor-cleaning machines that will save them hours of labor. NYCHA plans to buy over 1,000 machines so that all NYCHA developments have access to this time-saving equipment. All janitorial staff will be trained on how to use the machines by the end… MORE
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Seeking Success through Collaboration and Accountability
On September 13, Employee Engagement Committee (EEC) members met to discuss how we personify NYCHA’s core values in our daily work lives. One group’s conversation centered on what it means to be “a collaborative workforce, accountable to ourselves and to our residents.” It was fitting that during this discussion we were joined by the leadership… MORE
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A NYCHA Author’s Dream Comes True
On October 9, 2017, I had the privilege and once-in-a lifetime opportunity to be honored at the 73rd Columbus Day Parade – the largest celebration of Italian-American heritage and culture in the United States – for my memoir, “Deformed: My Remarkable Life.” The parade’s Grand Marshal, Leonard Riggio, Founder and Chairman of Barnes & Noble,… MORE
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Celebrating the 2017 NYCHA-CUNY Scholars
On September 20, NYCHA and the City University of New York (CUNY) celebrated 23 residents for their academic excellence, leadership, and contributions to their communities at the 12th annual NYCHA-CUNY Resident Scholarship Program awards ceremony, held at Borough of Manhattan Community College. The NYCHA-CUNY Resident Scholarship is awarded to residents in full-time CUNY programs with… MORE
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In Memory of Thomas Johnston
Thomas Johnston started his NYCHA career in 1994 and rose through the ranks to become a deputy director in the Bronx Property Management Department. With two brothers and a father who were also Authority employees, he came from a true-blue NYCHA family. Mr. Johnston passed away from cancer in May. At Claremont Consolidated’s Family Day… MORE
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Top Recyclers
In a June 9 ceremony at the Williamsburg Community Center, NYCHA and nonprofit partner GrowNYC celebrated the exceptional work of Latimer Gardens staff in properly setting out their development’s recyclables. Latimer Gardens met Department of Sanitation pick-up and quality control standards 100 percent of the time. NYCHA’s recycling program was launched in 2015, and now… MORE
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NYCHA’s Trade Fair Levels the Playing Field
More than 200 vendors, contractors and consultants attended NYCHA’s 2017 Minority-and Women-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) and Section 3 Business Concerns (S3BC) Trade Show at BNY Mellon in Manhattan on May 4. “Our trade show features representatives from New York City and New York State agencies who, like NYCHA, want to benefit from your expertise in… MORE
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Up Close: NextGen NYCHA Progress
To celebrate the two-year anniversary of NYCHA’s strategic plan, the Department of Communications organized a week of media events from May 15-19: Monday, May 15 Our resident board members published a letter in the Gotham Gazette discussing NYCHA’s accomplishments to date and the threats we face if our budget is cut by the Trump administration.… MORE
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Safely Handling Stress
“Life is full of stress… But the thing about handling stress well is being able to appraise it, react to it appropriately, and put it behind you.” Dr. David Spiegel, Stanford Center on Stress and Health There are many factors that can affect how safely you perform daily tasks—like driving, drilling, mowing or mopping. One… MORE
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NYCHA’s Urban Fellow Looks Back At Her Experience
Amidst the chaos of my final semester of college—trying to do well in my classes, creating new memories with my friends, and enjoying my last few months before I had more responsibilities—my successful application to become an urban fellow was welcomed stability. New York City was my next stop and I was ready to experience… MORE
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Meet Andy Destin, Newest Member of the Chair’s Team
Five years ago Andy Destin, a private-sector management expert with 10 years of retail industry experience, decided that he wanted a stable career at the Housing Authority. So he accepted the first position offered to him: clerical aide in General Services. It didn’t take long, however, for Robin Wall and Alexander Ho, Andy’s supervisors, to… MORE
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Chair’s Message to Staff on NYCHA’s Looming Budget Crisis
In a message to staff on April 4, Chair Shola Olatoye described the severe fiscal challenge NYCHA faces from proposed federal budget cuts and our determination to launch a national campaign to win support for public housing. Dear Colleagues, March 2017 will likely go down as one of the most significant months in NYCHA history.… MORE
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Hispanic Society Invites ESD Director to Celebrate Womens’ History Month
NYCHA’s Hispanic Society held a general membership meeting on March 8 in the Ceremonial Room at 90 Church Street, where guest speaker Erenisse Tavarez, Director of the Emergency Services Department (ESD), provided an overview of its operations. A critical aspect of ESD’s mission is to address highpriority emergencies during after-hour operations, such as weekends and… MORE
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Employee Voices: One-Stop Kiosks Put the Customer in Control
NYCHA’s residents, Section 8 tenants and other customers now have more access to information and self-service features thanks to approximately 150 one-stop kiosks installed in property management offices (and soon to be installed in customer walk-in centers in Brooklyn and the Bronx). The kiosks increase access to NYCHA’s ever-growing list of online services by allowing residents to interact with… MORE
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Employee Voices: Transforming Business Operations
by Chloe Gutelle, Senior Administrator Last year, NYCHA residents made over 2.8 million requests for repairs. Over half of open repair requests are for skilled trades. In some cases, residents wait months for even one trade to service their apartment. The wait to complete a repair increases when two or three skilled trades must be sequenced to complete the… MORE
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Sustainable NYCHA: Energy Initiatives Connect NYCHA to A Cleaner Future
What is your role at NYCHA? I started at NYCHA more than a year ago. My first task was coordinating the development of the Sustainability Agenda, which was released last year on Earth Day. There are a lot of initiatives that came out of the Sustainability Agenda that are new to this agency that I’ve been… MORE
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