First Members of Resident Roundtable Announced

Thirty-two NYCHA residents were recently chosen as the first members of the Resident Roundtable, a new committee that ensures residents continue to play an important role in NYCHA’s Transformation Plan, where they will provide valuable feedback and recommendations to implement the plan.

The Citywide Council of Presidents (CCOP), the official citywide NYCHA resident organization, appointed five residents to the Roundtable and the remaining positions were filled by NYCHA residents and voucher holders in PACT/RAD developments through an open application process. The Roundtable members reflect NYCHA’s diverse population and represent each of the Authority’s new “Neighborhood” portfolios. The Neighborhood Model will improve operations and provide increased attention to NYCHA developments through the creation of smaller property management portfolios. (Read more about the Neighborhood Model here.)

Wald Houses resident Monalisa Ortiz is thankful for the opportunity to be a member of the Resident Roundtable, representing the MN2 Neighborhood, which includes Baruch, Gompers, and Wald Houses: “As a lifetime resident of NYCHA, I have seen so many changes throughout decades, and it is rewarding to know that with this new Transformation Plan many residents will slowly start to see the changes of dream complexes and apartments. As the famous quote says, ‘Good things come to those who wait’; well, many of us have waited long enough and our voices have been heard. Now it is up to us, the communities all over the five boroughs, to take charge and collaborate, become one, and take back our complexes. Let us all be part of the Transformation Plan and make NYCHA beautiful again!”

Resident Roundtable member Daniel Wool of Grant Houses said, “I am extremely honored to have been selected to represent residents in our NYCHA developments, helping to steer the NYCHA transformation, stabilization and implementation plans. My late mother, Ingrid, was very concerned with the state of NYCHA and I hope to advance her memory, as well as of other residents who have come before us — the pioneers of the positive changes seen over the years. I look forward to serving and working with NYCHA employees to make a better experience for all the stakeholders.” Mr. Wool represents the MN8 neighborhood, which includes Grant, King Towers, Manhattanville, and Saint Nicholas Houses.

Each Roundtable member will serve for two years and will be required to attend Roundtable and committee meetings; gain input from fellow residents and identify and prioritize new topics; make recommendations on NYCHA policies and programs; advise and actively participate in the implementation of approved recommendations; and participate in other aspects of NYCHA’s work as needed.

“We welcome the 32 members of the Resident Roundtable and are looking forward to working with them on the Transformation Plan and its implementation,” said Eva Trimble, NYCHA’s Executive Vice President for Strategy & Innovation. “We recognize that meaningful change cannot happen at NYCHA without residents at the table, working alongside our staff. We are grateful that these dedicated individuals, who represent each of our 30 Neighborhood portfolios and the RAD/PACT developments, have stepped up to collaborate with us and improve the lives of their NYCHA neighbors.”

Resident Roundtable Members and the Neighborhoods They Represent:

Queens/Staten Island

Bernice Swinton, Ravenswood
Representing QS1: Queensbridge North, Queensbridge South, and Ravenswood

Jean C. Chappell, Woodside
Representing QS 2: Astoria, Latimer Gardens, Pomonok, and Woodside

Loinsworth Sankarsingh, Redfern
Representing QS 3: Baisley Park, Beach 41st Street-Beach Channel Drive, Hammel, Redfern, and South Jamaica I

Brenda Harris, Cassidy-Lafayette
Representing QS 4: Berry, Mariner’s Harbor, Richmond Terrace, South Beach, Stapleton, Todt Hill, and West Brighton I

The Bronx

Muriel Logan, Edenwald
Representing BX 1: Boston Secor, Eastchester Gardens, Edenwald, and Pelham Parkway

Laila Stracker, Parkside
Representing BX 2: Monroe, Parkside, Soundview, and Throggs Neck

Susana Ortiz, Bronx River
Representing BX 3: 1010 East 178th St, Bronx River, Sack Wern, and Sotomayor Houses

Dominique Arrington, Morrisania Air Rights
Representing BX 4: Fort Independence, Marble Hill, Morrisania Air Rights, and Sedgwick

Yolyevett Arriola-Alvarez, Patterson
Representing BX 5: Mill Brook, Mitchel, Mott Haven, and Patterson

Cai Wiggins, Castle Hill
Representing BX 6: Adams, Castle Hill, Melrose, and Saint Mary’s Park

Sojourner Smith, Forest
Representing BX 7: Forest, Morris, and Union Avenue Consolidated

Dominica McCoy, Highbridge Gardens
Representing BX 8: Butler, Claremont Consolidated, Gun Hill, Highbridge Gardens, and Webster

Manhattan

Celia Rivera, La Guardia
Representing MN 1: La Guardia, Rutgers, Smith, and Vladeck

Monalisa Ortiz, Wald
Representing MN 2: Baruch, Gompers, and Wald

Yvonne Jenkins, Riis II
Representing MN 3: Chelsea, Fulton, Lower East Side Consolidated, and Riis

Carlita Blanco, 154 West 84th Street
Representing MN 4: Amsterdam, Douglass, Straus, and Wise Towers

Aissata Diaby, East River
Representing MN 5: East River, Jefferson, Wagner, and Wilson

Sandra Perez, Holmes Towers
Representing MN 6: Carver, Clinton, Isaacs, Lehman Village, and Washington

Beverly MacFarlane, Taft
Representing MN 7: Johnson, Lincoln, Robinson, Samuel, and Taft

Daniel Wool, Grant
Representing MN 8: Grant, King Towers, Manhattanville, and Saint Nicholas

Wayne Breamfield, Drew-Hamilton
Representing MN 9: Drew-Hamilton, Dyckman, Harlem River, Polo Grounds Towers, and Rangel

Brooklyn

Daouda Diomande, Marlboro
Representing BK 1: Carey Gardens, Marlboro, O’Dwyer Gardens, and Surfside Gardens

Kimberly Richardson, Breukelen
Representing BK 2: Bay View, Breukelen, Glenwood, and Sheepshead Bay

Tekima Letman, Cypress Hills
Representing BK 3: Boulevard, Cypress Hills, Linden, Pennsylvania-Wortman, and Pink

Reginald Bowman, Low Houses
Representing BK 4: Brownsville, Hughes Apartments, Low Houses, Tilden, Van Dyke I, and Woodson

Sybil Allen, Kingsborough
Representing BK 5: Brevoort, Garvey, Kingsborough, Ocean Hill Apartments, Park Rock Consolidated, and Reid Apartments

Mia Berrios, Roosevelt I
Representing BK 6: Marcy, Roosevelt, Stuyvesant Gardens I, Sumner, and Tompkins

Audrey West, Bushwick
Representing BK 7: Borinquen Plaza I, Bushwick, Cooper Park, Taylor Street-Wythe Avenue, Unity Plaza, and Williamsburg

Theresa Bell, Lafayette
Representing BK 8: Farragut, Howard, Ingersoll, Lafayette, and Whitman

Nancy Johnson, Albany
Representing BK 9: Albany, Gowanus, Red Hook East, Red Hook West, and Wyckoff Gardens

RAD/PACT

Taurean Lewis, Berry Street
RAD/PACT

Kathy James, Fredrick Samuel Apartments
RAD/PACT