Hammels Celebrates Aloha Family Day!

Story and Photos
By Theresa Racine

Every year all of NYC Housing Authority’s complexes host a family day, a day to celebrate families and bring the community together. The activities include food, entertainment, music, school supplies giveaways, barbecues, and much more. Hammel Houses held their Aloha Family Day on Saturday, August 17. This event was organized by the resident association, including president Belinda Davis, vice president Lisa Johnson, treasurer Shebra Lee and secretary Josephine Roshe Brun. They all partnered up with NYCHA to bring this wonderful event into fruition. Sponsors like Lisa’s Kitchen and Buttahscakes N Plates provided delicious food that was served, feeding almost 300 people in addition to the barbecue. Arc Mechanical and Electrical Contractors and Rockaway Woman For Progress, NYCHA, and NYC Bird Alliance also helped with the event. Shanice Figeroux of We Are Queens Arts brought art to the park. Appreciation awards were given out to several people, including lifetime residents Tyquan and Nyquan Perch, who are very active in the community, making sure to promote all local events.

Another Hammel’s resident who is well known in his community and a rapper, Keen Streetz, has been doing community basketball competitions for seven years. This game started out as an idea and seven years later, it’s still going strong. Most of the team members said, “It couldn’t be done.” Never say never, all things are possible even with the power of one. The teams are mostly professional players, as they play for colleges and play overseas. Keen Streetz brought some basketball excitement to Family Day, which also brought many to the park to watch the game.

DA-Grinders and Ballin 4 Bundles were the first teams and Da-Grinders reportedly won by a lot. Unfortunately, the second game was washed out by a rainstorm, and he had to cancel the event after the first game for safety reasons. He is working on rescheduling the event for a later date. If you would like to participate or find out more about his endeavors, you can follow him on instagram keenstreetz_

Lisa Johnson said, “I was very pleased with the turn out. When asked what she would like to do for next year, she said she just wanted more community partners to join and become a part of the family day event. She would love to have screenings at their event and be able to offer more appreciation certificates. Overall, the park was filled with people, and everyone had a great time.