Akeem Jamal with Mayor Mike Spano
Fate works in mysterious ways. In Akeem Jamal’s youth, he was a high school athlete considering his future: Should he pursue a football scholarship or enter public service? Soon after, in a classic tale of intersecting lives, Jamal met Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano at a ceremony where he received an award for his football prowess.
Jamal remembers precisely how the meeting went. “Mayor Mike Spano was my hometown mayor, and I mustered up the courage to approach the Mayor for an internship. At that point I had asked a few elected officials for internships, but nothing panned out.”
Jamal’s phone rang a week later. The call was from the office of the Yonkers deputy mayor, inviting Jamal to city hall for an interview. Afterward, the office tapped Jamal, a high school senior, for the internship.
Jamal recalls, “It was tough – I was turned down one time after another by local elected officials for an internship, yet there was my golden opportunity, Mayor Spano; he took a chance on me, and the rest is history,” he says. “I interned in his office for about six months, and with every task, I made sure to give it my all, and I am happy to say my hard work paid off – I was extended a part-time role as his assistant.” While just making $12/hr, Jamal best described the feeling as an “out of body experience.” Jamal went on to say: “It was surreal; my parents, immigrants to this country, raised me, telling me that with hard work, determination, and a little bit of luck, anything is possible and if luck doesn’t get you there, work harder. Like any kid in high school, we hear our parents, but I began listening to their words. I knew some were smarter or even had the connections I didn’t – I also knew no one could outwork me, no one could match my drive. I worked my tail off to get that role.”
Jamal tells this story from his office on Roosevelt Island in New York City, where he’s the Assistant Vice President of Communications and Government Affairs for Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation. A young man who works elbow-to-elbow with RIOC’s Chief Executive Officer, Shelton J. Haynes, and achieved tangible results. Operated similarly to a local government, the state-run RIOC manages the island’s daily services, real estate development, public art and buildings, public events, and disasters.
RIOC’s Akeem H. Jamal Describes an Opportunity-Filled Senior Year
Senior year was a heady time for Jamal as he decided which university to attend while interning as a mayoral aide. As he prepared to graduate from Yonkers High School, his football coach told him he had a solid chance to land a spot on a college football team roster if he chose to pursue football on the collegiate level. Ultimately, he decided to pursue a path of public service.
An abundance of career and education possibilities swirled around Jamal. But he was alone in being younger than the other city hall employees and of Indian Guyanese ancestry. It is rare that anyone in government looked like him, he explains. And as a son of Indian and Guyanese immigrants, his story is one that masses have yet to hear.
“I had to prove myself,” he says. “As a young man of color it was important to me to carry myself in a way that would make my family and peers proud – to take the opportunity before me and run with it, especially in a historically white male dominated field seen nationally. An Guyanese or Indian American working in the United States in what’s known to be a white-dominated male industry? That’s unheard of. I slowly moved up the ranks, showing what I could do. I let my work ethic speak for me.”
Jamal worked at Yonkers City Hall for nearly eight years while attending Westchester Community College for a Global Business Associate degree, Fordham University earning a Bachelor’s in Communications and Media Studies and Pace University Lubin School of Business earning a MBA.
“That’s something I’m most proud of — getting that internship, riding the wave, and then proving what I am capable of,” he says. “I feel like I shattered a glass ceiling because so many people — people of color and young people especially — would love to get into these different industries but don’t know how. I hope to be a spokesperson for people my age and in my community to show them this is possible.”
Today, Jamal says his experience working for Mayor Spano, who was elected in 2011 has prepared him with the necessary training needed to publicize Roosevelt Island’s appeal with his RIOC team.
“Yonkers is a city of nearly 210,000 people versus this 12,000-population island,” he says. “The size doesn’t matter because working with my talented team we can scale the model anywhere. We can translate those results into something tangible.”
Akeem Jamal, Son of Immigrants, Describes His Early Dive into Politics
As he moved up the ranks in Yonkers, Akeem Jamal recognized his knack for public speaking, connecting with people, and working with the community. He served on various campaigns, including Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid. On the local level, he worked on political campaigns for senators, mayors, and council members and truly had the mentality of ‘no task is too small’, handing out palm cards, phone banking, and “trying to make that little difference that I could.”
By the time Jamal was 18, he had launched the Yonkers Police Youth Coalition to bring young citizens into friendly contact with the Yonkers police.
“I worked with the youth and the police officers to bridge the gap that seemed to exist at the time,” he says.
Jamal worked with the local police department and encouraged police officers to attend the youth coalition’s meetings and visit schools to interact face-to-face with young citizens. Being young himself, Jamal felt amiable interactions between youth and police would yield benefits to all.
“When I was growing up, the only time we had interactions with police officers was when there was something wrong,” Jamal says. “Having police officers do more community engagement was a big win for me. It started with having the support of Mayor’s Spano’s administration, knowing there was already an emphasis on community policing made it easy on my part to create the legwork to launch the program. If for some their first interaction with an officer is positive, chances are the next time they have an encounter for what may be a negative reason may have a better chance for a positive result. This program was designed for youth to see police officers in the community, so they won’t seem like the enemy.”
As a community advocate and the city’s liaison for the Yonkers Police Reform Committee, Jamal worked with fellow committee members to recommend reforms. Of their 27 recommendations, Yonkers implemented 25.
“Seeing that progress come full circle is something I could hang my hat on,” he says. “That was a win.”
Akeem Jamal Wears Many Hats at RIOC
About 150 employees fuel RIOC. As Assistant Vice President of Communications and Government Affairs, Akeem Jamal hopes to get his team to sing from the same song sheet to proclaim the good word about Roosevelt Island.
“I wear many different hats right now,” Jamal says. “I’m working with CEO Shelton Haynes as a thought partner about programs we have in the pipeline. But I’m also transforming our communications in general, both internally and externally.”
Despite being a friendly face in Yonkers, Jamal says he’s excited for the big and bright stage on New York City’s 2-mile island in the East River. He knows from experience that a critical aspect of improving RIOC’s external communications will include face time. In a plan that echoes the meet-and-greet program for Yonkers’ police force, Jamal plans for RIOC’s top brass to become familiar faces in the community.
“I want the executive team to become more immersed in the public,” he explains. “I aim to increase tourism. I want to go ahead and make people feel good about where they’re from. That takes buy-in from our team and the community. I want to bridge that gap because that gap does exist. The best way to do that is by consistently being out there in public.”
As he goes forward, Jamal pushes a cartload of accomplishments to publicize and comments, “To achieve any level of success it takes a total team approach, and I am fortunate enough to be working with some of the best and brightest minds.”. Among the big news: The current RIOC team has completed multiple projects that began during earlier RIOC administrations, including the FDR Hope Memorial in July 2021.
The RIOC recently worked with real estate developers The Hudson Companies and Related Companies to conclude a partnership venture they established in 1997. The conclusion will see the construction of the building Riverwalk 9. The 28-story tower will be the ninth and final building of Riverwalk, a 19-acre complex of more than 2,000 apartments.
Riverwalk 9’s completion will be the final stage of the Roosevelt Island master plan designed by renowned architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee in 1969. Based on a population of 20,000 citizens, the master plan recreated the aesthetic and operations of a small town, which was a quaint idea considering the island’s location across from midtown Manhattan. Still, the island’s small population needed a community scaled to the geography. The plan featured apartments, shops, parks, a town center, one main street, and a central garage.
Jamal revels in RIOC’s history, vision, and accomplishments. His broad youthful smile , charming personality and positive energy comes with years of experience. It’s hard to misinterpret: Akeem Jamal is a man on fire — ready and willing to get his hands dirty to achieve new heights for Roosevelt Island.
“I don’t know many people doing what I’m doing at my age,” he says. “I’m not patting myself on the back. Instead, I’m acknowledging an achievement by someone like myself because let’s face it history can tell you, I am not supposed to be here. By working my tail off as a teenager along with the mentorship of Mayor Mike Spano it prepared me for the challenge that lies ahead at this New York State Authority. I created this new reality for young people in positions of authority in government– as my parents said, all it takes is hard work, determination and little luck.”
