Making a Difference for Residents
Meet Sam Awelewa, Lead Oversight Team Specialist
NYCHA is proud of our hardworking staff members who are making a difference for residents. Learn more about how we’re becoming a better landlord through their efforts. In this employee spotlight, meet Sam Awelewa, Lead Oversight Team Specialist in the Environmental Health and Safety Department. A resident of Brooklyn, Mr. Awelewa has worked at NYCHA since 2019 after previously serving in the City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). As one of five oversight specialists working across all five boroughs, Mr. Awelewa monitors the field compliance of NYCHA personnel and vendors performing renovation, repair, and painting (RRP) jobs; lead abatement; dust wipe collection; and visual assessments. In addition, he investigates lead hazard complaints by residents.
According to Vincent Eweka, Lead Oversight Team Administrator: “Sam consistently goes beyond his routine duties as a Lead Oversight Specialist by pulling from his years of experience to identify health and safety issues that could pose imminent hazards to NYCHA residents. Sam has shown a willingness to take on leadership roles and apply his environmental and construction management knowledge to assist with our Community Air Monitoring Program oversight activities. He continues to provide guidance and exude professionalism to his team members.”
“My role is to inspect any job related to lead abatement and RRP. When the workers get into the unit to conduct any lead-related activities, we have to make sure they are following all of the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) protocols and have all their PPE (personal protective equipment) on and all the necessary equipment in place to protect the resident and themselves as well.
“We also inspect the storeroom to make sure that it has all the necessary RRP equipment for staff to work. If we find any issues with the equipment, we notify the storeroom attendant and their supervisors to ensure they have the adequate equipment.
“The Lead Oversight Team is crucial to NYCHA, because what we do is very significant for the residents to protect them from lead hazards. Without the Lead Oversight Team specialists inspecting all of these activities, residents might be exposed to lead hazards.
“Lead is a very important issue for NYCHA properties at this time, so we just want to make sure all residents are being protected and the workers are following the proper protocols. We also ask the tenants if they have any children under 6, and we indicate that in our report at the end of the day and add that information to the tracker.
“It’s been my pleasure working at NYCHA. Even when I was working in the private sector, most of my projects were at NYCHA and we had a lot of contracts with NYCHA, so it’s been a part of me to help individuals living at NYCHA and make sure they are safe.”
