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NYCHA Neighborhood Administrator Nymiah Branch has more than 35 years of experience to draw from when it comes to understanding the needs of ������Ƶ.   

After growing up with his family in Brooklyn’s Boulevard Houses for 20 years, Mr. Branch lived on his own at Breukelen Houses in Brooklyn for another 16 years. It was that experience which inspired him to first begin to work for the Authority as a summer youth at the age of 14, and has helped shape his more than two decades-long career as a NYCHA full-time employee.  

“After growing up in NYCHA, you start to see your neighborhood change, and you see your environment changing, and you just want to be a part of it to help make a change for the better,” said Mr. Branch, who now lives in Elmont, New York.  

After gaining his first permanent position at NYCHA as a caretaker in 1999, Mr. Branch held several titles, including heating plant technician and superintendent, before being promoted to his current position of neighborhood administrator overseeing the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Formerly known as regional asset manager (RAM), the neighborhood administrator role was established as part of NYCHA’s new Neighborhood Model, which seeks to improve oversight and provide increased attention to NYCHA developments by creating smaller property management portfolios.  

Under the Neighborhood Model, NYCHA’s property management operations have been divided into the four geographic boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens/Staten Island. Mr. Branch serves as one of 30 neighborhood administrators who represent portfolio “neighborhoods” across the city, each with 4,000 to 7,000 apartments in their area. Property managers at each NYCHA development report to the neighborhood administrator, who reports to the borough’s vice president of operations.  

By having the neighborhood administrators serve smaller neighborhood portfolios than the former RAMs, the Neighborhood Model gives them the opportunity to learn the unique needs of their developments, provide improved accountability, and spend more time at the sites. Mr. Branch noted that this allows the administrators to “actually see what the developments and property managers are experiencing,” and not just hear about the issues secondhand. 

“They want us to be out there and more engaged at the development level,” he said.    

For Mr. Branch, the engagement with the residents, resident association leaders, and community organizations is what he enjoys most about being a neighborhood administrator. Among his various responsibilities are assisting property managers and property maintenance supervisors with accessing resources, and helping to address the needs and concerns of residents. 

“The neighborhood administrator is there to bring everybody together and have them work together in unison, and to give ideas and suggestions,” he said. “You get to have a voice as an employee.”   

One of the key improvements of the new Neighborhood Model is to cut down on travel times between developments for neighborhood administrators by creating portfolios where properties are located closer to each other. Mr. Branch, who has five developments within his Brooklyn coverage area, said he is sometimes able to visit two to three developments per day.  

This enhanced oversight of the properties has helped improve the relationships with community members, according to Mr. Branch, who noted that he regularly communicates with resident association leaders and works to resolve any concerns.  

“I see that difference in people feeling like NYCHA is listening to them,” he said of the Neighborhood Model’s improvements.  

As a former longtime NYCHA resident who has dedicated his career to the Authority, Mr. Branch said it’s been a dream to rise through the ranks and have the opportunity to give back to the community where he was raised.  

“It’s a tremendous boost of confidence; it makes you feel as if you’re doing something for the next generation, and it makes you more passionate,” Mr. Branch remarked.