Carpentry and Callaloo: Meet Estelle St. Claire  

For Estelle St. Claire, who works as a Carpenter for NYCHA in the Bronx, the first weekend in September is one of the most important weekends in the year.  

“I don’t go anywhere on Labor Day weekend,” Ms. St. Claire explained. “I must be in New York.”  

New York City is home to one of the largest Caribbean diasporas in the world, and Labor Day weekend is when tens of thousands of New Yorkers come together to celebrate Caribbean culture at J’Ouvert and the West Indian Day Parade Carnival in Brooklyn.  

Ms. St. Claire, whose parents emigrated from Trinidad to Brooklyn in 1974, has been going to the parade for decades – and she participates in much of it. She’s a member of her cousin’s steel drum band, Hearts of Steel, which came second place in last year’s J’Ouvert competition. Though her son is now 30 years old, Ms. St. Claire and her friends still join the junior parade each year to celebrate the traditions getting passed down.  

“We have so much love for the culture,” she said. “A lot of the kids here, embracing the culture, have not even been to Trinidad and they’re playing steelpan like the professionals. It’s very moving.”  

Despite being the first in her family to be born in New York City, her love for her Trinidadian heritage remains as strong as the rest of her family who were born on the Caribbean island.  

“I’ve always believed that we are happy people, with a love of community; everything surrounded good music and great food.”   

One thing she misses from Trinidad and wouldn’t mind having a bit more of here is ‘liming’ – an important part of Trinidadian social culture which involves hanging out, relaxing, and sharing some food, drink, and laughter with your friends. 

She fondly recalled a trip to Trinidad in 2016 – her first in many years – to attend Carnival, which attracts tens of thousands of returning Trinidadians (and many others from around the world) to the island each February for a week-long party. It reminded her of the few years she lived in Trinidad with her family when she was younger, watching her grand-aunt sew costumes for the dancers and bonding with distant relatives over a shared passion for music – whether it was soca, calypso, or steel drums.  

“Connecting with it again, I understood: wow, this is everything to them. To go there and see the island during Carnival, it’s always just great vibes.”  

Ms. St. Claire, who joined NYCHA in 2015 and worked as a Maintenance Worker before getting a Carpenter title, worked in commercial construction before coming to NYCHA. The last major construction project she worked on was the erecting of Tower 4 at Ground Zero. Now, Ms. St. Claire installs and repairs cabinetry, wall enclosures, and doors for developments across the Bronx.  

She first inherited a love for working with her hands when helping her father out with random projects as a child. Her parents, she said, worked hard when they moved to the U.S. and always stressed the importance of the opportunities available to their children here. While her dad may have expected his son to get into construction, it was his daughter who would.  

“I’ve always loved doing things with my hands,” she said. “It always fascinated me. I always liked seeing progression of projects going from nothing to something.  

Though she’s no longer working on skyscrapers, she immensely enjoys working at NYCHA and takes a great deal of pride in her work. “There’s a sense of satisfaction of using my skills to be of service.”  

“There are days when I may be down for whatever reason and a resident will lift your spirits with their appreciation for you just doing your job,” she said. “It’s gratifying.”  

In 2023, she was happy to learn that fellow NYCHA employees had launched the agency’s first Caribbean-American Association (NCAA). In June of that year, she enjoyed meeting NYCHA employees from all over the Caribbean at the association’s Caribbean-American Heritage Month potluck, which featured a variety of food representing the region.  

At this year’s Caribbean-American Heritage Month celebration, the organization celebrated its first anniversary and honored Ms. St. Claire. “We chose Estelle for her passion and dedication to the association,” said Sharon Dhanraj, NCAA President and Special Projects Manager for the Chief Administrative Officer. “She has helped us promote the association as well as recruit many new members within skilled trades. She always assists with NCAA events and has provided generous food donations at both heritage month events.” 

The celebration featured special guests (NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo and NYCHA Board Vice Chair Victor Gonzalez) and was attended by approximately 70 people. There was a Caribbean trivia and facts game and free raffle drawings in addition to the delicious food offerings that NCAA members contributed, such as pernil, saltfish and mangu, curry chicken and curry goat, Guyanese fried rice, Trinidadian-style vegan callalloo, and more. (See photos from the event below.)

When Ms. St. Claire was asked if she could name a Trinidadian dish that she would like everyone to experience, she said she couldn’t – there were too many to choose from. Doubles, bake and saltfish, bake and shark, Buss up Shut – the list goes on. However, no Trinidadian meal, she noted, would be complete without callaloo, which is made with okra, greens, pumpkin, coconut milk, and herbs and spices.  

In summing up her feelings for her homeland, Ms. St. Claire said: “We have a love for music, for the pan, and for food.” 

Featured photo caption: Estelle St. Claire (middle) with Sharon Dhanraj, President of NCAA and Paula Flynn, Vice President of NCAA.