(Taken from March 2024 TBNC Community Programs Newsletter)
Two Bridges Neighborhood Council connected with a few women in the community to celebrate their personal achievements and recognize them for their work. Have a look:
Carol Lamberg, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council
Board Chair
What is your relationship with the Two Bridges community?
I am 84 years old, the current Board Chair for Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and was the Executive Director for Settlement Housing Fund from 1983 until 2014. During my time at Settlement Housing Fund, over 8,700 apartments in 55 developments were developed across the City including Two Bridges Tower and Two Bridges Senior Apartments. I learned about Two Bridges in the 70’s when the urban renewal plan began. I helped my boss, Roger Schafer, who was the technical housing consultant to Two Bridges and then went to work for Settlement Housing Fund in the early 70’s. We were able to find funds and resources on all seven sites.
What personal achievement are you most proud of?
I was especially happy to figure out a complex financing methodology for Two Bridges Tower, the final residential development site. We combined tax credit investments with several loans and grants for a successful mixed income development!
Who is your favorite historical female figure?
I am a serious fan of Eleanor Roosevelt, who supported democratic ideals. I admired Rosa Parks for never giving up in her support of integration. Frances Levenson, now 100 years old, was a brilliant housing expert, lawyer, Settlement Housing Fund board member and advocate. Clara Fox, my boss at Settlement Housing Fund was a strong feminist.
Tanya Castro, Lands End 2
Resident Association President
What is your relationship with the Two Bridges community?
Two Bridges has been my home for over 45 years. As a God-fearing, young mother of 6 and now a grandmother of 2, my passion has been to serve and advocate on behalf of seniors who have been underserved. My whole life I have worked in the community, sometimes taking on 2-3 jobs at time, to make ends meet and learned the value of services from local CBOs like Hamilton Madison House, Henry Street Settlement, and Two Bridges Neighborhood Council. In addition, I have been self-employed since 2001 as a legal insurance agent with Prepay Legal, aka Legal Shield. Most have come to know me through community advocacy efforts such as TUFF LES, LESERRC, CWG, LESON, DYCD NAB, and my involvement in PTA’s. With each effort I join, I find opportunities to partner with other community resident leaders to bolster our efforts and ensure our voices are heard and included. Currently, I serve as the Resident Association President for Lands End 2.
What personal achievement are you most proud of?
Out of all the positions I have held and jobs I have worked, being a mother is my greatest achievement. At an early age, my grandmother and I had a very close relationship. She was my caretaker as a young child, and it was through her that I learned how to apply myself in order to become self-sufficient. Through her I learned what it meant to care for others. When I became pregnant, I used her example to keep me going, until she passed. Through her example and my experience as a mom, I learned how to become a woman and then a woman advocating for those who could not speak for themselves. I knew that my calling was grounded in my faith as a Woman of God, and also that my children were constant reminders to lean into empathy, patience, and compassion as a force to advocate. Many, if not all, of my advocacy efforts are done on a volunteer basis, with the exception of an opportunity I was given by TBNC, who recognized my efforts and compensated me to continue the work during the pandemic. They believed this work needed to be on the ground and run by the community. They trusted in my ability to create partnerships and programming directly serving residents. I am forever grateful to TBNC for their support. My focus as always been fighting for a better tomorrow for my children, my family, my friends, neighbors, and my community. I see opportunity in struggle to become stronger, and with every issue I’ve been blessed to see the resolve and opportunity to build up people and myself.
Who is your favorite historical female figure?
My favorite historical female figure is Puerto Rican Afro-descendant woman Dominga de la Cruz Becerril. She was a liberator, nationalist, poet, fighter, and heroine of Puerto Rico born in Ponce on April 22, 1909. She was a woman born out of struggle and was orphaned twice in her life and faced extreme poverty while living in Ponce. Her husband was an ironmonger who spent time significant time away from home until one day he never returned. She raised her two daughter by herself, with little money only to lose them to rickets. After they died, she found employment as a reader in a tobacco shop and began her political career and was later appointed as the director of the Women’s Section of the Nationalist Junta of Mayaguez working to fight for Puerto Rico’s Independence. One powerful image of her that resonates with me is of her raising the Puerto Rican flag high during the Ponce Massacre, noting that the “the flag should never touch the ground.” To me this flag represents not just celebrating and being proud of where you come from, but also, to never let struggle get you down and to continue fighting. My hope is that women continue to raise their flags in their hearts and continue to fight to see a better tomorrow.
Marilyn Engstler, Grenadier Realty Corporation (GRC)
Property Manager at Two Bridges Tower and Two Bridges Senior Apartments
What is your relationship with the Two Bridges Community?
I started working at GRC just a few years after graduating college and have managed several properties in their portfolio. I began my management position in the Two Bridges neighborhood in 2020, during the onset of the COVID epidemic. It was challenging to physically be on-site daily but it was important to make sure that the residents from both buildings continued to receive important building services. I hope the overall experience for residents who live at Two Bridges, is a great one and that they know we are a caring and hands on management team.
What personal achievement are you most proud of?
In my role as Director of Community Relations for Roosevelt Island, I was able to foster and facilitate 63 community organizations and assist them to reach their goals in the community. These organizations in turn created a unique, diverse, harmonious and prideful community. Assisting volunteers who provide services to the residents and seniors has always been a passion of mine. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Two Bridgeset resident leaders who truly make a difference in the quality of life for the residents here in the Two Bridges neighborhood.
Who is your favorite historical female figure?
My favorite female historical figure is Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I admire her tenacity, perseverance and passion for change in a time when women were not heard. She wasn’t perfect but she made many crucial changes for women in her role as a lawyer and justice on the Supreme Court. She fought for gender equality and women’s rights until her death at 87 years old in 2020. Ms. Ginsberg fought sexism throughout her lifetime and throughout mine, and for that I am grateful.
We wish all of the women in our community a happy Women’s History Month and thank you for all you do in your places of work, at home, and in the community.