Public Employee Press

Top honors for two Parks workers

PARKS EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR: Lifeguard Supervisor Javier Rodriguez teaches lifesaving maneuvers to candidates in training.

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Two DC 37 members were given highest honors by the city Parks and Recreation Dept. at an afternoon ceremony at the Central Park Arsenal on March 25.

Recreation Director Andrea Williams, a Local 299 member, received this year’s W. Allison and Elizabeth Stubbs Davis Award, one of the highest awards bestowed on a Parks worker for dedicated service to New Yorkers. And Javier Rodriguez, a veteran member of Lifeguard Supervisors Local 508, was named Employee of the Year by Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe — the first time a Lifeguard has won this prestigious award, said Local 508 President Peter Stein.

Supervisor Vonetta Diggs nominated Williams, a Parks employee since 1985, for her “outstanding contributions and extraordinary dedication to parks and playgrounds and her community participation” above and beyond her job requirements.

“To be recognized is really exciting and is a result of opportunity and preparation,” said Williams. She credits “the great people I work with,” and accepted the award on behalf of Brooklyn and the St. John’s Recreation Center staff. With perfect attendance for over 15 years, Williams, a graduate of Brooklyn ­College, is active in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community as an assistant coach with the Jeuness track program. She is also an official for the Colgate Women’s Games, the Metropolitan Athletic Conference and the Penn Relays.

“Working with the children and staff makes every day rewarding,” Williams said. “We instill two rules in life. Number 1: Never quit, and Number 2: Always remember rule Number 1.”

“I am very surprised and feel deeply honored that they recognized me professionally,” said Rodriguez. “Lifeguards are sometimes a forgotten emergency response service unit.” City Lifeguards and Supervisors have amassed a sterling safety record for protecting the lives of millions of New Yorkers at city beaches and pools.

PARKS DEPT. HONOREE: Recreation Director Andrea Williams (left) helps a student of the St. John’s Recreation Center in Brooklyn.

Employee of the Year
Rodriguez’s career in the Parks Dept. began in 1979, when as a teen he was hired as a Lifeguard at the Hamilton Fish Pool on the Lower East Side. Rodriguez worked at Manhattan Beach, was promoted to Lieutenant, became a Coney Island Beach Chief, and later served as Borough Coordinator. Rodriguez captained the SUNY New Paltz swim team and in 1989 earned a law degree from Texas Southern ­University Law School.

Today Rodriguez is an instructor at the agency’s Lifeguard Training School, teaching the 16-week training course that includes swimming and rescue techniques and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

“We produced 1,100 qualified Lifeguards last year and hope to surpass that number this summer,” he said.

Rodriguez credits co-workers Norberto Ferrer, Leo Perlmutter, Martin Kravitz, Allison Jerriahian, and Ritchie Sher for making his job enjoyable, and especially thanks his mentors, Howard Walter and Jim Klewicki. He said, “I have learned so much from them and they have helped me grow professionally.”

“To receive this honor is acknowledgement and recognition for all Lifeguards, who work hard to create a safe environment at the pools and beaches,” said Stein. Rodriguez accepted his award on behalf of his colleagues “who serve day-in and day-out with no recognition.”

“This is affirmation of the confidence Commissioner Benepe has in the entire Lifeguard program and of the wonderful job done by New York City Lifeguards, who are DC 37 members,” he said.