NYCHA Now

NYCHANow chronicles the hard work of the men and women who make the New York City Housing Authority run, reporting the latest news and happenings.

NYCHA Now
man wearing suit and tie
Employee Voices May 2021 

Making a Difference for Residents

Latoya Jordan
Meet Michael Cox, Community Coordinator

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 Michael Cox, Community Coordinator in the Resident Engagement Department.

What is your current role in the Resident Engagement Department? I work as a Community Coordinator on the Queens/Staten Island Initiative team. We try to spread the word about initiatives that NYCHA’s doing. Right now we’re working on a beautification project for Queensbridge Houses, trying to let residents decide how to best allocate the money. Some residents want better lighting, different signage, or a garden to grow their own vegetables. We’re also trying to get residents signed up for Blueprint for Change virtual Town Halls. We’ve been distributing PPE and making phone calls to seniors to help them get appointments to get their COVID-19 vaccines. We would normally be out interacting with residents, having meetings, and knocking on doors but now we’re doing that through the phone and Zoom. 

What is one thing that you are especially proud of accomplishing over the past year? I’m most proud of the PPE distribution, because we went out to a number of developments to distribute gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer. Helping out in a crisis like this made it feel like we were accomplishing something that was going to make a difference immediately. Everything we do makes a difference, but that was immediate gratification – maybe somebody didn’t get COVID because of the PPE we handed out.  

What is one thing you hope to accomplish over the next year? I hope to get back to being able to go to resident association meetings with 25, 50, 100 people. Before COVID, we would get into the office, grab our materials, and we’d be in different developments every day. You try to be effective as you possibly can with calls, but you lose that in-person contact. The best part of the job is dealing with residents in person. I hope to get back to that. 

What are some of your favorite things to do when you are not at work? I’m an avid reader. I read history and biography. I love baseball; my season is coming and hopefully we’re playing this year. I love the Yankees and going out to restaurants, going to concerts at Jones Beach. I miss hanging out with my colleagues. After 26 years of working at NYCHA, some of your best friends are the people you work with.