Going Above and Beyond: Damir Galzina

Celebrating NYCHA Heroes

Meet Damir Galzina, Senior Deputy Director of the Law Department

There are many hardworking men and women, from the central offices to the front lines, who are making sure that NYCHA continues to deliver vital services to residents during the COVID-19 crisis and helping to keep our community healthy and safe. We thank them for their service on behalf of the entire NYCHA family. In this edition of our regular spotlight on one of our colleagues, we’re featuring Damir Galzina, Senior Deputy Director of the Law Department.

Lisa Bova-Hiatt, Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, had this to say about Mr. Galzina: “He has been an amazing help for the Office of the General Counsel. He has been going into the office regularly to monitor our mail, helped facilitate the setup of our E-service mailbox, and helped to operationalize it, so that staff who are working remotely can receive subpoenas, mail, service of process, and more. He is helping to keep the legal train on the tracks, and we are very appreciative of his hard work and dedication!”

“I lead a support unit within the Law Department. Our responsibilities include management of the front desk, library, and file rooms; technical support; hiring and other Law Department-related HR matters; and management of budget and payments. In short, we provide whatever non-legal support the Law Department needs to do its job.

During the current emergency, we are striving to ensure our staff’s safety while providing continuity in service to our residents, counterparties, and vendors. We implemented measures that include forwarding calls, instituting an electronic service of process option, and limiting visits to the office for mail and parcel retrieval. This has kept channels of communication with the Law Department unimpeded, while maintaining the safety of our staff front and center. Our residents are the primary beneficiaries of these steps, as the overwhelming majority of the calls received and documents processed were submitted by or on behalf of our residents.

I have worked for NYCHA since 2012, in the Special Investigation Unit of the Law Department, Materials Management Department, Procurement Department, and the Vendor Integrity and Supplier Diversity Unit of the Supply Management Department; I returned to the Law Department in 2019 to head the General Counsel’s administration unit.

Each of us has different life trajectories and experiences. One thing we all have in common is that we have gone through some tough times and came out of them. Let’s look back on how we weathered those tough times and find strength to deal with the current challenge. My advice is to look to help others first – a family member, neighbor, or colleague – even as we deal with our own obstacles.”

-Damir Galzina, Senior Deputy Director of the Law Department