Making a Difference for Residents

Meet Karina Reid, Caretaker at South Jamaica Houses 

We’re periodically featuring the 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 installment, meet Karina Reid, Caretaker J at South Jamaica Houses in Queens. A resident of Brooklyn’s Howard Houses for nearly two years, she started at NYCHA as a seasonal employee in 2015 and has now worked as a full-time caretaker for three years.   

According to Kamal Hossain, Property Manager at South Jamaica Houses: “I want to recommend Ms. Karina Reid to be featured for excellent service towards NYCHA. Her work exceeds the NYCHA standard, and she can be a very good example to others.” 

“When I come to work, my goal is to focus on the residents so they can have a clean building. We pick up garbage, clean the building, mop it and sweep it, and make sure there’s nothing there that’s unsafe. 

“Usually during the pandemic, we were here every single day, making sure we were doing a good job. Even when I just had a baby, I still came to work every single day. 

“We have to make it safe for the tenants, so we have to make sure that we wear masks. We have good support from the supervisors; they help you with anything you need, and we work as a team. 

“I love working at NYCHA because you learn a lot, and you actually learn about how to take care of a big environment. You could make a building look very beautiful within a week with all of the equipment they give you to help you and make your job easier.”