Making a Difference

Meet Janine Rodriguez, Housing Manager in Manhattan Property Management

We’re periodically featuring the female property managers who help NYCHA carry out its mission to better serve residents and strengthen our partnership with them. NYCHA supports and encourages women in leadership positions in all departments, including property management. Currently, there are about 260 women working as property managers at the Authority. In this installment, meet one of them – Janine Rodriguez.

NYCHA was Janine Rodriguez’s first job experience – she was a summer youth worker at the age of 14. But that’s not all: NYCHA was also her first home; her first summer camp; and a long-time employer for her mother, father, grandmother, aunt, and several cousins. Ms. Rodriguez herself has been working at NYCHA for the last 15 years.

“NYCHA is in my blood,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “It was kind of destined for me to work for NYCHA. I grew up in Eastchester Gardens in the Bronx and was always very involved with the community.”

Ms. Rodriguez started her career at the Authority in 2005 at the Office of Leased Housing. After several years there, she was promoted to an assistant manager position and then became a housing manager in 2017.

“I am a product of my environment,” Ms. Rodriguez explained. “As a property manager, that’s very important for me. I have been on both sides. I have been both a resident and an employee. I think that gives me an upper hand on some of the manager’s tasks.”

Ms. Rodriguez said that leadership is the most important skill required for her job: “The manager sets the tone for the development. You can either make or break the development. You have to be able to coach, train staff, evaluate your subordinates’ performance, and so much more.”

Ms. Rodriguez admitted that some aspects of her work can be challenging, but she finds inspiration in helping people.

“When people come here from the Department of Homeless Services to get their first apartment, they remember the person who gave them their keys and welcomed them in their first apartment,” noted Ms. Rodriguez. “The smile on their faces when they see the apartment, the smile on their kids’ faces when they learn that they have a place to call home – that’s what inspires me more than anything.”