New Resident Board Members Add Their Voices to NYCHA Leadership
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently appointed Jacqueline Arroyo and Jacqueline Young and reappointed Victor A. González to serve as resident members of the NYCHA Board of Directors.
Resident members attend monthly board meetings along with Chair Shola Olatoye, General Manager Michael Kelly, other appointed board members, and NYCHA leadership. At these meetings, they vote on contracts, resolutions, policies, rules and regulations, and other administrative matters. They also serve as representatives of the Authority at events, including press conferences and Family Days.
“The voices of NYCHA community members are central to our mission and inform all of our work. These individuals bring years of service as community leaders and their personal experiences to help us improve quality of life for all our residents,” said Chair Olatoye. “Now more than ever, resident input is critical as we continue to implement NextGeneration NYCHA, our long-term strategic plan to create safe, clean, and connected public housing.”
Victor A. González is serving his third term on the NYCHA board. A public housing resident for more than 50 years, Mr. González lives in Wise Towers and was the former president of the resident association. He has worked extensively with advocacy groups, organizing workshop meetings for residents and supporting activities that impact Wise Towers’ residents and the surrounding community. As a NYCHA board member, Mr. González has worked to streamline maintenance requests for apartment repairs and improve family services for formerly homeless residents and senior citizens.
Jacqueline Young, a 30-year public housing resident currently residing at Lenox Road Houses, raised two daughters as a single mother. She served as president of the resident association from December 2014 until January 2017. Ms. Young has worked on behalf of formerly homeless and low-income individuals for the past 20 years at three not-for-profit agencies and is currently the Low-Income Housing Compliance Manager at Comunilife, a community-based health and housing service provider.
Jacqueline Arroyo, a resident of Louis Armstrong Houses, regularly attends meetings and town halls on initiatives like the Rental Assistance Demonstration and NextGeneration NYCHA. While raising two children, Arroyo pursued a career in City service, working for 15 years for two City agencies. She is currently employed in the New York City Department of Education as a supervisor in the Office of the Auditor General, and has also worked at high schools in the South Bronx, Williamsburg, and Lower Manhattan.