Celebrating Our Community

Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and the first black candidate for president from a major political party, once said, “Service to others is the rent that you pay for room on this earth.”

In celebration of Black History Month (February) and Women’s History Month (March), the Journal revisits some of the amazing people who contribute so much to NYCHA, living Shirley Chisholm’s message of service every day through their good deeds and hard work. 

High school student and Jackson Houses resident Jewels Marshall joined her local community board to give a voice to her peers and make a difference in the South Bronx. Dr. Aprille Ericsson is a NASA aerospace engineer who blazed a trail in academia; in her lectures to youth about the importance of women and diversity in the science community, she talks about her inspirations growing up in Roosevelt Houses.

Assistant Property Maintenance Supervisor Michael Johnson, recipient of the prestigious Sloan Public Service Award from the Fund for the City of New York, is known at Johnson Houses for putting the residents’ needs first, whether it’s noon or midnight. Former NYCHA resident, James Secreto, Chief of the NYPD Housing Bureau, grew up in Brooklyn’s Albany Houses. He joined the police force in 1979, working his way up the ranks and now oversees safety for the more than 400,000 residents who live in NYCHA’s 326 developments. 

As we engage our partners in the new administration in Washington, my colleagues and I at public housing authorities across the nation will continue to highlight the importance of public housing and tell the stories of the people who make it such a vibrant institution. 

A community is nothing without its people—people working and living together with the shared goal of making their home the best it can be. Thank you for being part of our NextGeneration NYCHA efforts to do that here in New York City.

Shola Olatoye

Chair and CEO