NYU’s Community Builder

At three cultural institutions at New York University, where writers and intellectuals gather, inspiration comes in the form of a 26-year-old custodian.

On paper, Daniel Fernandez’s job is simple to the point of mundane: he cleans and moves furniture for events under the auspices of Collins Building Services, Inc. Specifically, he helps maintain the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life and Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo. Yet in just two years, he has demonstrated a wider ideal of community and hospitality. Read more

Paramount Plaza’s Everyman

Agron Osmani, 47, does the most important work of the day during a half-hour period. That’s when son Anvi, 14, and daughter Rudna, 11, get home from school and he has 30 minutes to spend with his family before heading off to work. By 5:15 p.m., Osmani must be in the Paramount Plaza, at 1633 Broadway just north of Times Square, where he works on the cleaning staff.

A self-described family man, Osmani said getting married to his wife Nazima and having kids motivated him to get a job as a cleaner at Paramount Plaza. Read more

An Army of One

Momenia Ali had a secret. But now she’s decided to introduce the world to Vernon Daniels.

“He does a great job for the neighborhood, and I had to let someone know,” she said.

Ali, a nurse who lives in the West Harlem area where Daniels works, couldn’t help but notice the results.

“He’s a great worker. He goes out of his way to help the disabled. Everyone admires him,” she said. Read more