NYCHA Now

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NYCHA Now
November 2016 

Meet Our Latest “I Am NextGen” Honorees

Michael Corwin

NYCHA continues to bring outstanding employees, residents and other stakeholders to the attention of the public through its popular “I Am NextGen” campaign. Our latest honorees are Language Bank volunteer Marisol Semprit and NYPD Neighborhood Coordination Officers Leandro Payero and Joseph Repetti. The Neighborhood Coordination Program is designed to unite police and the community as trusted partners in reducing crime and building stronger neighborhoods.

Marisol Semprit
“We have everything here at NYCHA, all nationalities – it’s like the United Nations. My job is great because my residents know me. They talk to me like I’m family. If you help people, they will always remember that about you.”

Marisol Semprit, Secretary IIIA at Gompers Houses, joined NYCHA in 1997. She works as the superintendent’s secretary and has been a NYCHA Language Bank volunteer for 14 years. She also helps other City agencies provide language assistance services.

Why do you volunteer your time for the Language Bank?

I was already using my Spanish at work to help residents so I thought “why not make it official” by joining the Language Bank. I love talking to different people, and knowing their language really helps to gain their confidence.

What’s the best thing about being a volunteer?

I love speaking and writing Spanish, and I have improved a lot! Spanish varies so much—words can have different meanings depending on where you’re from. Because NYCHA has such a variety of people, I’ve learned from all the people I speak to, from places like Mexico and Nicaragua.

What is your funniest Language Bank experience?

When I first joined, I translated a tenant meeting here at 80 Pitt Street, and I said something and the whole audience laughed at me. I didn’t know what I said that was so funny! Apparently I said something that was totally wrong! The tenants busted up, and some of the staff who were there still crack up about it when they see me. Laughter is something that really unites people and helps them get along.

Leandro Payero and Joseph Repetti
“Due to the efforts of everyone in the community — including the Butler Houses Resident Association, property management, residents, the NYPD, and other partners — we were able to accomplish our goals of making this development cleaner. Working together we can make a difference.”

NYPD Neighborhood Coordination Officers Leandro Payero and Joseph Repetti worked with residents, property management and other partners to accomplish the goal of making Butler Houses a cleaner and safer development.

What was your strategy to help make Butler Houses cleaner?

For the past year, we have worked with PSA 7’s commanding officer Deputy Inspector Jerry O’Sullivan, Butler Property Manager Ndukah Chukwuma, and Resident Association President Cornell Nolton to tackle an issue that concerns many of Butler’s residents: the trash left outside the development. We used a three-step approach to address the garbage issue: informing residents about proper disposal of household and bulk garbage and recycling; holding lobby meetings with residents to review proper trash disposal rules and answer questions; and issuing summonses to residents who didn’t comply with the rules.

What changes have you seen?

Now the front of the buildings look 80 percent better because of everything we’re doing to make this development a nicer, safer place. It’s not something that happened overnight, but for approximately the last year that we’ve been working on this issue, there’s been a change. Also, people wave to us now, residents and staff know us, and the buildings and grounds are becoming cleaner. Working together, we can make a difference.