Building #1 Superintendent Robert Isaac in the hallways was still warm, the fire was that intense. Still, it didn’t eat through the walls and caused no further damage outside the home where it started.” “I like being here,” Kenny explains of his tenure. “I never got bored; no two days were the same. 99% of the people are great. I think I’ll miss the people I work with and the people who live here the most… I won’t miss the snow removal!” Kenny, who intends to buy a home upstate by his son when he retires, sees nothing extraordinary with what he’s achieved at North Shore Towers. “You’re here to do a service,” he explains of his position with a shrug. Others would disagree. “The info in John’s head is invaluable. There is no way to describe what John knows,” says General Superintendent Cairo after a long pause to compose himself when confronted with the imminent loss of Kenny. “His leaving is a great loss to the maintenance and this facility. “He got here the same year I entered the NYPD 31 years ago,” continues Cairo. “He knows how to be a leader; he’s a natural problem solver and cares about the place and the people. Robert has big shoes to fill.” “Robert” is Robert Isaac, who is currently training to take over Kenny’s position. I s a a c w o r k e d as a Building #3 handyman at North Shore Towers from 2008 to 2011. Isaac has 28 years of experience, working his way up from porter. He became a building super at another facility in the years since his departure before being called back to assume Kenny’s position. “I learned a great deal from John when I was last here,” he says. “I gravitated toward him by virtue of how he comported himself at work. Building #2 Superintendent Melbis Peguero “It’ll take a few months learning the ins and outs, the quirks of the buildings and the people, but I have the best person to learn from,” Isaac adds about taking over Kenny’s mantle. “I hope I can absorb everything he knows. I think I can handle it and do a good job, but I’ll never be “Super” John. North Shore Towers Courier n June 2015 13 #1 New for #2 New Building #2 Superintendent Melbis Peguero started working at North Shore Towers as a porter for Building #1 in 2005, after answering an ad in a newspaper. The hard-working and ambitious Peguero immediately started going to Trade School in his time off, learning the basics in plumbing and electrical, in order to get his certification, which he succeeded in doing two years later. His diligence paid off and Peguero was promoted to Building #1 Handyman in 2007. Throughout his years at NST, Peguero has worked under 36-year veteran, Building #1 Superintendent John Kenny. “He was a fair person from the beginning,” Peguero explains of his first impressions of the venerable Super. “He allowed me to grow. I always had the opportunity to learn. If I made a mistake, he would explain the right way to do something, importing his knowledge on me. “John is a leader who is not afraid to take on any challenge,” Pegureo adds. “In this job, every day there’s something new; always something different. He never gives up; he’s always able to fix any problem that comes his way.” Perhaps even more important than the nearly four decades of knowledge and skills Kenny imparts to his young charges is his attitude. According to Peguero, “John never complains. He says, ‘We got to do the right thing for North Shore Towers residents. That’s what we get paid for.’” Photos courtesy of Greenthal Management “SUPER” MAN FAMILY (l. to r.); Building #1 Superintendent-in-Training Robert Isaac, General Superintendent Steve Cairo, Building #3 Superintendent Manny Bernacet, Building #1 Superintendent John Kenny, Building #2 Superintendent Melbis Peguero A NOTE FROM GENERAL MANAGER GLEN KOTOWSKI John Kenny has dedicated almost 35 years of his life serving as a Building Superintendent at North Shore Towers. Throughout his years of service, all of our other Building Superintendents, staff members and I have benefitted greatly from his accumulated wealth of knowledge and experience as have most of the many residents who have lived here. It is an understatement to say that he will be sorely missed upon his retirement later this year, but we should not forget how fortunate we are to have had John for so long as a leader on our team. Please join me in wishing him the very best in the future. He truly lives up to the name “Super John”!
NST062015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above