LeFrak City off ering summer jobs for students
Students: Looking for a summer
LEFRAK CITY COURIER | WWW.QNS.COM | APRIL 2018 13
job? If you’re a LeFrak City resident
and are 18 or older, you
can gain valuable work experience
and earn some money working for
LeFrak City Maintenance Services
through the Summer Youth Program.
Students in the program work with
LeFrak City’s management team, assisting
with a range of tasks. On a
given day they might greet visitors at
the front desk, helping residents who
come in with questions; they might
help with organizing or fi ling work.
Th ey might distribute fl yers, or —
because students tend to be techsavvy
— help administer web-based
safety training to staff members.
Th ey also become a valuable connection
point between LeFrak City
Maintenance Services and residents,
says LeFrak City General Manager
David Bernhardt.
“We use them in the community,”
he says. “We might send them into
the lobbies and exterior areas to try
to engage residents to get feedback
on some of the things we’re rolling
out here, or sign people up for some
the resources we have that benefi t
residents, like the resident portal, or
direct rent payments.”
Th e pay is $15 an hour. Th e hours
are fl exible, and no special experience
is required.
“We’re just looking for people
who are reliable and responsible,”
says Mr. Bernhardt, adding that
successful candidates will be those
“who can speak well, and who are
friendly and comfortable talking
with residents.”
Interested applicants should send a
resume to careers@realtyoperations.
com, putting “LeFrak City Summer
Youth Program” in the subject line.
Applications are due April 13.
Anonymous and homeless outreach
groups.
“Th e idea is to take multipronged
approach to whatever the issue is,”
says Offi cer Morinia-Blocker.
Th at might mean helping an illegal
vendor get a permit, or connecting
homeless people with substance
abuse problems with treatment programs.
“We can bring these diff erent resources
to the problem, instead of
just writing a ticket or arresting
someone,” says Officer Morinia-
Blocker.
Multitasking is part of the job, say
the offi cers; Offi cer Morinia-Blocker
likens being an NCO to managing a
small business. A given week might
involve school visits and appearances
at community events, and also
consulting with narcotics officers
about problem drug locations.
NCOs might assist detectives who
are working a case, leveraging their
knowledge of the community to locate
witnesses, or their connections
to shopkeepers to get surveillance
footage. They might visit at-risk
youth at home, asking about any
problems they can help with; Offi -
cer Pacheco cites one such teen who
told the offi cers he was being bullied
at school, leading them to try to help
with a school transfer.
One current project involves a
graffi ti-blighted wall along the Long
Island Railroad tracks on 44th Avenue,
that runs between a pair of
schools. The officers brought representatives
from the railroad to
do a site visit and talk about painting
it over, and brought out a group
that does public artwork to discuss
a beautifi cation project, looping in
administrators from the two schools.
“It’s a slow process, but it’s on
track,” says Offi cer Morinia-Blocker.
“It was initiated by us and organized
by us, and it’s something that never
would have happened if we were still
in a sector car.”
Randi Koch Nir, the director of
residential lease enforcement for Le-
Frak City, hailed the NCO program
and the two offi cers, who she said
have become valued partners.
“It’s a wonderful relationship,” she
said. “It’s good to have someone we
can talk to and share information
with. And it’s great for our kids to
not have a fear of the police, and to
look at them as part of the community
and as someone they can turn
to.”
The officers acknowledge that
suspicion of the police can run
deep, and that in some quarters
“the uniform still causes fear.” But
familiarity starts to build trust, and
that trust can open doors, they say.
They cite one street kid they’ve
gotten to know, whose friends react
with suspicion when they approach.
“He’ll say relax, I know them, these
guys are okay,” says Offi cer Morinia-
Blocker. “And that energy will transfer
over to other police offi cers. Like,
maybe they’re just here to give us a
fl yer for a meeting.”
PHOTOS: DEAN MOSES