10am Window Project
Dear Neighbor,
At the beginning and most frightening part of the Pandemic, our office received a report of a wellness check that revealed ELEVEN seniors left this Earth alone, probably sick, in their apartments. I immediately took stock of my own neighbors—many that I’ve known since childhood.
🪟 I called those I hadn’t seen in a while and started paying attention to EVERYTHING: Is the mail taken in? Has the trash been put out? One thing that was pretty consistent was that my older neighbors ALWAYS opened their curtains+blinds for morning sun. Then I remembered the way my own grandmother opens and closes her drapes with the sun. Apparently I’d told so many people what I was up to, one of my neighbors joked that it must be late morning because Naomi is outside checking windows, lol. And it was true.
🪟 And that’s how the 10am Window Project was born! I stopped looking for small cues and looked right through the windows. I’m back to work every day and my neighbors are doing great but I STILL check those windows every single day.
🪟 🏡 🌈 It’s surreal to see that my neighbors put a name to something I do daily without thinking. And it’s an honor that so many others are following my lead. But it’s just another testament to my love for my neighborhood and ability to LEAD my district in democracy, I also want to lead us in community because I highlight the NEIGHBOR in Neighborhood. ❤️ I’m on a mission in my little corner of my beloved borough and FOR the people in the community that raised me and loves me. And I love them FIERCELY.
Your neighbor, Naomi