Creating Safe, Clean, and Connected Communities with Tracy Lovelace

Tracy Lovelace is the coordinator of the Resident Watch program in Brooklyn. For more than 40 years, thousands of residents have volunteered their time as Resident Watch members, patrolling their developments and fostering safety, security, and community pride in collaboration with property management staff.

What is your role in making NYCHA communities safer?

We recruit residents for Resident Watch, conducting lobby and general meetings to explain what Resident Watch is and get residents involved. We make buildings safer by having three to five residents volunteer to sit in the lobby and do patrol. Some developments don’t have a Resident Watch supervisor, so my staff and I will sit with the volunteers and do patrols in the building. We work with the NYPD on patrols and making sure the buildings are safe and that Resident Watch volunteers have what they need to be comfortable while sitting patrol, like fans during the summer. The presence of Resident Watch members makes a difference in deterring crime.

Resident Watch in Brooklyn is very successful due to the leadership of Zulenmi Castillo-Martinez, my supervisor, and my two wonderful staff, Demetrices Hallett and Danielle Cook-Crenshaw – plus the 31 Resident Watch supervisors and more than 1,000 volunteers!

I like helping residents. It makes me feel good when they say “thank you” for being there by their side. You can’t do this job without caring. You always have to come in with a smile, and you have to be prepared to assist and to stay in contact. You have to let residents know that you’re there for them; this is a volunteer program, and we want residents to know that we appreciate what they are doing to keep their community safe.

Why is our NextGeneration NYCHA mission of creating safe, clean, and connected communities so important?

It’s important for quality of life for residents to feel comfortable and safe. Resident Watch is the first line of defense for safety – we are the eyes and ears of the community. We have a lot of grandparents in the program, which is beneficial for them; we want youth to work with their grandparents to make sure they and their neighbors feel safe, and we want everyone to have open lines of communication with the NYPD.

Can you discuss the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training provided by NYC Emergency Management that many Resident Watch members completed?

About 15 Resident Watch members completed the training. They learned so much and were so grateful for the program that they want to do it again! They learned how to plan for an emergency, how to evacuate and set up a family meeting place, and the important things to pack in a go-bag, like flashlights, copies of birth certificates, and a spare set of keys.

As part of the training, there was a simulation of a storm scenario at Van Dyke Houses. They said I should have received an Oscar for my performance as a victim! I played someone with a dislocated shoulder. The volunteers had to provide us first aid and apply any other training they learned. It was really phenomenal and the instructors said it went well.

How long have you been involved in Resident Watch? What’s your history at NYCHA?

Almost four years. I’ve been at NYCHA for almost 30 years: I was the director of a community center, part of the drug elimination program, I worked on resident association elections, and I was in the Family Services Department.

Are you a NYCHA resident?

No, but when I was younger I always wanted to live at NYCHA! I lived a couple of blocks from Roosevelt Houses and hung out there.