BY BEN VERDE
If an infrastructure project
has ever torn up your block,
chances are you learned about
the work thanks to a Community
Construction Liaison.
Working as the middlemen
between communities and the
city, Community Construction
Liaisons take to the streets surrounding
major Department
of Design and Construction
projects months before work
starts, where they speak with
residents and business owners
about any forthcoming disruptions
to everyday life that
might occur — from the shutting
off of water, to the removal
of parking spaces and loud construction
at odd hours.
Once the work starts, liaisons
like 34-year-old Jose
Moreno pivot to passing out
advisories and posting work
notices to make sure the community
stays informed.
“You’re dealing with people
all the time,” Moreno said from
outside a Boerum Hill worksite,
COURIER L 16 IFE, NOV. 13-19, 2020
where workers picked
away at a hole in the road near
Pacifi c Street and Third Avenue.
“You speak with them
in person, people just kind of
know who you are by a certain
point of the project, you’re
walking around and people
ask you ‘hey how much longer
is this going to take?'”
Moreno has been stationed
at the same project on Third
Avenue since 2016, where city
contractors are working to install
new stormwater sewers
and convert combined sewers
into sanitary sewers. Over the
years he has gotten to know
all the necessary stakeholders
in the neighborhood and
develop working relationships
with them.
The Community Construction
Liaison position dates
back to the David Dinkins administration,
during which an
offi cial with the Department
of Environmental Protection
complained of having no way
to effectively communicate
with communities during major
construction projects. Soon
after, the role was created.
There are typically 100-orso
liaisons deployed around
the city, but due to COVID
drop-offs and budget restrictions,
only about 75 are currently
out in the fi eld, according
to the DDC.
Liaisons go through training
to effectively communicate
with the community, according
to Maria Centeno, who coordinates
the programs.
“We have to work with the
community as far as coordination
and possible accommodation,
sometimes we can’t
always accommodate them,”
Centeno said. “How do we
break that not-so-good news,
or share the community impact
so they can understand in
the long run that this is a benefi
t to them?”
Moreno says he applies this
LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: Jose Moreno at a work site in Boerum
Hill with one of his ubiquitous work notices. Photo by Ben VerdE
training when dealing with locals
by reminding them that
the reward for their troubles
is shiny new infrastructure.
“The more I can learn
about the project and why
we’re doing it, it helps to educate
the community as to
why we’re doing what we’re
doing,” Moreno said. “Some
of these water main pipes,
they’re over 100 years old, so
with that information what
I’m able to explain to the
community is: these pipes
are very old, they’re fragile,
they’re deteriorating — what
we’re doing is strictly preventing
a catastrophe from
possibly happening.”
BAD NEWS BEARERS
How Community Construction Liaisons keep
locals informed during longterm projects
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