NYCHA Employees Go the Extra Mile
Gas outages at eight developments couldn’t put the chill on Thanksgiving celebrations for 900 residents, thanks to the quick response of senior staff and employee volunteers. When General Manager Michael Kelly put out the call for assistance just two days before the holiday, executive team members quickly contacted local food distributors and arranged for the donation, purchase and delivery of the turkey dinners.
But these efforts alone wouldn’t have succeeded without the compassionate response of 45 employee volunteers from many departments who took time from their own holiday plans to deliver and serve the toprate dinners so that residents could celebrate.
Fleet Maintenance staff picked up and delivered 600 dinners donated by Whole Foods to East River, Sotomayor, Edenwald and Grant Houses on Wednesday night, and 300 hot meals purchased from E.A.T. W/ Culinary Professionals, Inc., were delivered and served to residents at Howard, Kingsborough, Sumner and Marcy Houses on Thanksgiving Day.
“Teamwork was really important,” said Sheila Kaufman, Senior Advisor in the Office of the EVP for Operations, who worked with employees at Grant Houses. “Some employees packed up food for other developments and others made deliveries. Everyone was happy to play a part.”
Alicka Ampry-Samuel, Senior Advisor for the EVP for Community Engagement and Partnerships, went door to door with volunteers beforehand to let residents at Howard and Kingsborough Houses know that NYCHA would be providing the meals and also to connect residents to other holiday events and dinners in the community.
“When staff realized there was a need for volunteers, they just stepped up to help. It was really gratifying to see how staff are dedicated to the the residents we serve,” she said.
When Mauricio Morales, Borough Coordinator in Resident Engagement, saw there weren’t enough dinners on Wednesday for 40 families at East River Houses, he drove to New Jersey on Thanksgiving Day to pick up additional meals from Whole Foods and delivered them to the development.
“I wanted to make sure the dinners arrived at East River on time, so I spoke to my family to see if it was okay and then got NYCHA’s approval,” he said. “As a 21-year veteran with the Housing Authority, I feel if the residents aren’t happy then I’m not doing my job.”
NYCHA departments that provided volunteers and services included Community Engagement and Partnerships,Resident Engagement, Operations, Communications, Office of Emergency Management, Intergovernmental, and Real Estate Services, among others.
“The gas outage happening so close to Thanksgiving made it difficult to rework holiday plans for many families, so the meals we brought really made a big difference,” said Marcela Medina, State Legislative Affairs Officer in the Office of Intergovernmental Relations. “Some people had few options and buying outside dinners can be really expensive.”
Describing the scene on Wednesday night at Grant Houses, which served as a staging area to pack and deliver meals to other developments, Ms. Kaufman recalled: “We all rallied and went into action on short notice. Chair Olatoye worked with us. When we were finished, she gave her heartfelt thanks and said how pleased she was with employees’ spirit. It was a great encouragement to us all.”
The next day, Chair Olatoye extended her thanks “to everyone who helped deliver meals to our residents” in an email message. While recognizing a few key players, “it was truly a team effort,” the Chair said. “I am so honored to be part of this team.”
