Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 8, 2016
Contact: Media@nycha.nyc.gov | (212) 306-3322

NYCHA APPOINTS JOSEPH KEMP AS RESIDENT PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBER

Public Housing Resident Will Serve as Youth Voice, Help Develop the NextGen Public Safety Blueprint, an Integrated Plan to Create Safer, Cleaner, and More Connected Public Housing Communities

NEW YORK—The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) today named Joseph Kemp, a 21-year old Queensbridge Houses public housing resident, as a member of the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC). As part of NextGeneration NYCHA —the Authority’s 10 year strategic plan— the Public Safety Advisory Committee will engage a variety of stakeholders to develop the NextGen Public Safety Blueprint, a plan that will incorporate current public safety efforts with additional initiatives to address crime, youth and community engagement, emergency response and preparedness, lease enforcement, and quality-of-life issues ranging from littering to dog owners that fail to curb their pets.

Raised in Queensbridge Houses since the age of six, Joseph Kemp is a rising senior at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in philosophy with a focus on law and logical reasoning/critical thinking and a minor in writing. He will serve as a voice for public housing youth for a term of one year on the Public Safety Advisory Committee.

“With 41 percent of NYCHA residents under the age of 25, we need young adults like Mr. Kemp at the table helping shape the direction of public safety at NYCHA,” said NYCHA Vice President for Public Safety Gerald Nelson. “Mr. Kemp is committed to the community he’s called home for past fifteen years and we look forward to his unique contributions to the Committee.”

“I see the issues that plague my neighborhood and I want to be able to make an impact in correcting them. I want to make the community safer, for both residents and visitors,” said Mr. Joseph Kemp, newly-appointed resident member of NYCHA Public Safety Advisory Committee. “The input of youth is imperative to the success of the committee. With it, we can do some great things, collectively.”

Mr. Kemp applied to serve on PSAC as a representative of public housing youth between the ages of 18 and 24. He will join the executive committee, which is led by NYCHA Vice President for Public Safety Gerald Nelson, NYPD Housing Bureau Chief James Secreto, and President of the NYCHA Citywide Council of Presidents Ann Cotton Morris. PSAC will also seek input from other city agencies and stakeholders, including the District Attorneys representing each of the boroughs and other resident leaders.

A recipient of the NYCHA-CUNY Resident Scholarship and the Queensbridge Scholarship, Mr. Kemp plans to attend law school after his undergraduate career at John Jay College, where he maintains a Dean’s List status. Mr. Kemp serves on John Jay College’s Judicial Board, supervising student government elections and presiding over matters of student misconduct. Previously, he served as an elected alternate council-at-large in the student government. As the treasurer of a student political club, Mr. Kemp manages the group’s budget and recruits new members. He is also a Debate Program Coordinator Intern with the New York City Urban Debate League, training and managing volunteer judges and serving as a back-up judge. He volunteers his time with the New York Cares organization and works part-time as a lead concierge at a college dorm.

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