First-Class U.S. Postage Paid New York, NY Permit No. 4119 NYCHA Vol. 43 No. 1 www.nyc.gov/nycha January/February 2013 NYCHA Hires Residents Post-Sandy, to the Benefit of Many $7.1 million federal grant pays for nearly 400 jobs NYCHA RESTORES Additional reporting by Eric Deutsch and Howard Silver here are many people benefitting from a $7.1 million federal grant that allowed T NYCHA to hire nearly 400 people to work on post-Hurricane Sandy recovery work at developments impacted by the storm. Residents living in impacted areas will have additional staff to clean theirJourna buildings and assist them with accessing services; l the newly hired employees have jobs; and NYCHA will be able to accomplish more in a shorter amount of time. “When I found out about this, I thought it was a great opportunity to extend my- self to help my neighbors and people in distress,” said Benardo Castro from Jefferson Houses in Manhattan. More than half of the hired workers are NYCHA residents, many of whom lost their jobs as a direct result of Hurricane Sandy. The jobs are funded by a National Emergency Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor that lasts for up to six months. NYCHA was assisted in hiring workers by the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) through its Workforce1 program. Nearly 2,000 people at five events applied for NYCHA jobs funded with a federal grant, including at “I’m glad for this opportunity with good pay. It’s good to pick people with expe- the O’Dwyer Community Center in Brooklyn on December 12, 2012, where people started lining up at 5:30 a.m. Photo by Eric Deutsch. rience in the neighborhood to help because we know (the people) and what they are going through, so we are sympathetic,” said JoJo Adeyemi from Coney Island services they may need. The Community Outreach Workers will be working later in the Houses in Brooklyn. day and on Saturdays to ensure they contact every family. “We hope to ensure that ev- Some of the new employees will serve as Custodians, keeping grounds and build- ery resident impacted by Hurricane Sandy has the services they need for their families’ ings clean. “NYCHA welcomes these new employees who will provide great assis- recovery from the storm’s impact,” said NYCHA General Manager Cecil House. tance to our residents in returning their communities and lives to a safe living environ- As part of the recruitment process for the jobs, NYCHA’s Office of Resident Econom- ment,” said NYCHA Chairman John B. Rhea. ic Empowerment & Sustainability (REES), in partnership with the New York State Depart- Other employees will be Community Outreach Workers, knocking on the doors of ment of Labor and SBS, hosted five pre-screening events in Coney Island, the Lower the 19,000 residents directly impacted by Hurricane Sandy to connect them with any East Side, Red Hook and the Rockaways to interview applicants. continued on page 2 Deadline To Apply For FEma Disaster NYCHA Outreach Continues to Assist Assistance Extended •The deadline to apply for Residents Post-Hurricane Sandy disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Coney Island, Red Hook and Rockaways residents One of the more intensive efforts Agency (FEMA) was extended receiving significant resources is a door-to-door assessment by to February 27, 2013. By Eric Deutsch NYCHA’s Family Services Department •Allresidentswhoexperienced s the City and NYCHA continue lives back to normal. NYCHA remains of all affected residents in Coney damage to their apartment, lost Ato recover from the effects of Hur- committed to providing significant Island, Red Hook and the Rockaways. wages or lost personal items due ricane Sandy, public housing residents resources to assist residents affected Employees worked hard to ensure to Hurricane Sandy should register also are doing their best to get their by the storm. they spoke with someone in every with FEMA to apply for disaster apartment to find out if any residents assistance. needed medical care, mental health •Youcanapplyonlineat counseling, homecare services, www.fema.gov/apply-assistance relocation assistance or other hurri- or by calling (800) 621-3362. cane relief type of services. In addi- tion, Department of Operations staff inspected the conditions of every apartment and cleaned them where it INSIDE was necessary. THIS ISSUE The relocation assistance was particularly vital for many families who lived in first floor apartments. NEW APARTMENT, NEW Eighty families in Zone A moved to FURNITURE: another NYCHA apartment, either NYCHA Partners Help Furnish Post-Sandy permanently or temporarily, as of » see page 10 January 28, with Authority staff coordinating the entire process. “The NYCHA CHOOSES DEVELOPERS most important thing we can do is for Brooklyn Projects » see page 5 NYCHA General Manager Cecil House (far right) meets with residents to discuss ongoing restoration make sure all residents in the affected efforts after Hurricane Sandy at the Ocean Bay Community Center in Queens. continued on page 5 2 January/February 2013 The Housing Authority Journal NYCHA Residents’ Voices December 10, 2012 Board Meetings (via e-mail) otice hereby is given that the New York City Housing Au- would like to take this opportunity to say Bernice helps the young ladies that come here Nthority’s Board Meetings take place every other Wednesday Ithank you to Ms. Bernice Allah. Ms. Bernice and becomes like another mother to them. at10:00a.m.intheBoardRoomonthe12thfloorof250Broad- is an extraordinary person. She goes far and She puts them on their feet and steers them in way, New York, New York (unless otherwise noted). The remain- beyond for the residents of Breukelen Houses. the right direction, by telling them about the ing meetings for Calendar Year 2013 are as follows: She takes that extra step to make the resi- different Housing programs that benefit them; dents very happy, feel safe, and she gets the she cares. February 13 April 24 July 17 October 9 job done. She’s always a joy to be with, she Again, I want to say GOD BLESS YOU Ber- February 27 May 8 July 31 October 23 knows her job very well. She will do what no nice for all you have done for us here at Breuke- March 13 May 22 August 14 November 6 others will. Ms. Bernice takes extra care of the len Houses. WE LOVE YOU DEARLY. Keep up March 28 June 5 August 28 November 20 elderly. the great work and never change. (Thursday) June 19 September 11 December 4 April 10 July 3 September 25 December 18 She not only knows her job, but she enjoys Laura Pierce, Breukelen Houses doing it. You have no choice but to love her. Any changes to the schedule above will be posted here and on NYCHA’s website at nyc.gov/nycha to the extent practicable December 26, 2012 at a reasonable time before the meeting. (sent via Twitter) These meetings are open to the public. Pre-registration at Happy birthday least45minutesbeforethescheduledBoardMeetingisrequired mommy!!! by all speakers. Comments are limited to the items on the Cal- Chelsea Eve endar. Speaking time will be limited to three minutes. The public Cordero, comment period will conclude upon all speakers being heard or 45 Allen Street at the expiration of 30 minutes allotted by law for public com- ment, whichever occurs first. Copies of the Calendar are available on NYCHA’s website or December 31, 2012 December 31, 2012 canbepickedupattheOfficeoftheCorporateSecretaryat250 (sent via Twitter) (sent via Twitter) Broadway, 12th floor, New York, New York, no earlier than 3:00 Mis delicias: Flan, Cheese Now her gift… p.m. on the Friday before the upcoming Wednesday Board Meet- Cake, Corn bread, Sweet Frances Andrea, ing. Copies of the Disposition are available on NYCHA’s website Potato Pound Cake and Bayview Houses or can be picked up at the Office of the Corporate Secretary no Brownie earlier than 3:00 p.m. on the Thursday after the Board Meeting. Noemi Allen, Unity Plaza Any person requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the Board Meeting should contact the Office of the Corporate Secretary at (212) 306-6088 no later than five busi- Tell us what is on ness days before the Board Meeting. For additional information, Send a snail mail to: please visit NYCHA’s website or call (212) 306-6088. your mind! Please limit written submissions to250words. NYCHA Journal Residents’ Voices accepts Letters to the Editor letters, photographs, poems, The Journal reserves the right 250 Broadway, 12th floor Check out NYCHA’s Facebook page! drawings – anything that allows to edit all content for length, New York, NY 10007 you to express yourself! clarity, good taste, accuracy, etc. ot a web-enabled smartphone? Now you can access NYCHA’s Because of space limitations, we Send a Tweet on Twitter at Please include your full name, twitter.com/NYCHA_Housing Facebook page and bonus content in this issue by scanning must limit all contributors to one G development name, address letter per person per issue. Post a message on Facebook at or taking a snapshot of the QR codes. The QR code for NYCHA’s and phone number. We will There are many ways to share www.facebook.com/NYCHA Facebook page is on the right. print only your name and development on our pages; your thoughts with us at the Send a fax to 212-577-1358 Step 1: Download a QR code scanner application Journal: we need your address and If you have any questions, from your phone’s marketplace (many of these phone number for verification Send an e-mail to please send them to “apps” are free to download).