Mayor Adams Honors NYCHA Employee for Supporting Resident Associations

It’s not every day that one gets singled out by the mayor of New York City for doing a great job.

But earlier this month, Mayor Eric Adams honored Jacqueline Howard, a 32-year veteran NYCHA employee, for her work as project coordinator in the Resident Participation & Civic Engagement department. The ceremony took place at NYCHA’s Langston Hughes Houses in Brownsville, Brooklyn. “I felt privileged; most people don’t get an opportunity to meet the mayor, much less have him give them an award,” Ms. Howard said. “It was really an honor.”

Ms. Howard supports the work of resident association leaders to strengthen their communities – she has provided training for the leaders of 26 resident associations. “The goal is to give them guidance as public advocates so that they get results,” she said.

Often the leadership of the resident associations – which Ms. Howard likened to small non-profit corporations – volunteer for the responsibility without prior experience running an organization. Cipriani Noel, who spoke at the award ceremony, recalled feeling so overwhelmed juggling his new position as president of the Langston Hughes Houses Resident Association with his full-time job and fatherhood, he was about to quit.

“It was too much for me after my first two years to be effective with residents,” Mr. Noel said. “I was trying to do everything myself: I was trying to be a superhero. I was running from meeting to meeting, and it was too much. I told Ms. Howard, ‘I think I have had enough: I have to quit.’”

But Ms. Howard wasn’t having it. “She said to be a good and effective leader you have to delegate instructions to your staff,” Mr. Noel recalled. “She told me I could send my vice president to meetings to report back to me, have my secretary reach out to elected officials, and tell my treasurer to secure the right amount of funding. The load became lighter.”

For lightening the load of so many resident association leaders, Ms. Howard, herself a former resident of a NYCHA development, received the John Andrew Taylor Highest Excellence Award.

“Everyone respects this woman so highly,” Mr. Noel said. “When you attend her meetings, you learn so much from her. She equips you not only with a regular key to open one door, but a master key to open several doors – allowing you to obtain resources as well as knowledge about being an effective leader to assist our residents. She’s amazing.”

For Ms. Howard, getting kudos from a resident association president meant no less than receiving them from Mayor Adams.

“I was very honored by his acknowledgement,” Ms. Howard said. “It’s really great to be appreciated for the work I am performing.”

Caption: Jacqueline Howard, Project Coordinator in Resident Participation & Civic Engagement, was recognized for her work to support resident leaders by Mayor Eric Adams at Langston Hughes Houses in Brooklyn.