New FlexOps Pilot Initiative to Improve Customer Service Debuts

It’s not every day that Chair Shola Olatoye and General Manager Michael Kelly greet employees with coffee and donuts. But the morning of July 5 was a special one—a new pilot program called FlexOps (“flexible operations”) had just launched at 12 consolidated developments in four boroughs.

For four months, service hours at these developments are extended beyond the traditional 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. shift. The property management offices at all of these developments will stay open until 8 p.m. one day a week for scheduled appointments with residents. And at some developments, there is coverage of frontline NYCHA staff starting earlier in the day (6 a.m.) or ending later in the day (7:30 p.m.). All staff participating in the new staggered shifts (which includes caretakers, maintenance workers, and property managers) are volunteers or new hires.

FlexOps is already getting rave reviews—from both employees and residents—at Dyckman Houses in Upper Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood. Dyckman’s seven buildings—home to more than 2,300 residents—circle a tranquil and spotlessly clean campus filled with tall, leafy trees. Caretakers Loranzo Brown, Tieysha Leak, and Gary Carter are proud to help keep Dyckman’s grounds so pristine. They and three other caretakers volunteered for the early shift there—6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

“When tenants come out in the morning, they see the elevators clean, the steps clean, the lobbies and front of the buildings clean,” explained Mr. Brown, who has worked at NYCHA for almost 21 years, the last eight at Dyckman. “Just this morning, a tenant saw me cleaning the elevator when she was leaving for work and said ‘thank you.’”

“I love FlexOps,” said Ms. Leak, a NYCHA employee for 13 years and resident of Washington Houses. “I have doctors’ appointments for my thyroid, so FlexOps works for me. After work, I can also go shopping, do a little cleaning, spend time with my kids, and still get to bed at a good time.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” said Mr. Carter, who has been a caretaker at Dyckman for eight years. “We’re doing the same work, just earlier. The goal is to get more things done before people come down in the morning. And now I have more time to get things done in my personal life. I can pick up my son from school and make doctors’ and dentists’ appointments.”

“Residents appreciate the extra effort,” noted Dyckman’s property manager, Jacqueline Frazier. “I’ve heard positive things.” In fact, according to a survey, 94 percent of NYCHA residents support this property management industry standard at their development.

“I think it’s excellent, a great program,” said Nathaniel Green, Dyckman’s Resident Association President, who has been a resident leader there for about a decade.

It helps residents because workers are able to get their jobs done better. Residents work closely with caretakers and property management, putting our two cents in on FlexOps. Residents are satisfied.”

Residents at FlexOps developments can contact their property management office to schedule an evening appointment with office staff. Visit NYCHA’s website (www.nyc.gov/nycha) to learn more about FlexOps, including participating developments and details about service hours.