Public Employee Press

Profile in Public Service
Giving Back

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

One million New Yorkers depend on the Human Resources Administration for vital public assistance - food stamps, Medicaid and more.

It's up to Computer Specialist Iqbal Mohammed and his colleagues to prevent any of them from falling through New York City's safety net by keeping the computer network for the welfare system up and running.

As long as he can remember, Mohammed has been fascinated with computers, just as a young mechanic enjoys dismantling and rebuilding the engine of a car.

And as much as he loves computer science, Mohammed also finds deeper meaning in his work because of his long-held commitment to public service. A computer geek he is not.

"I have gotten so much from this country that I feel an obligation to give something back," said Mohammed, 40, who immigrated to the United States from India, in 1999. That sense of community led Mohammed to volunteer to teach a computer course for students from poor and working-class families in Queens a few years ago.

"I feel that when you work for the city you are helping people in need," said Mohammed, who became a U.S. citizen and worked in the private sector for IBM and Kraft Foods before deciding to pursue a public service job.

He started out as a consultant at HRA, then took a civil service test and became a Computer Specialist. Mohammed and his team are all members of Electronic Data Processing Employees Local 2627.

India's huge civil service system was established over a century ago by the British imperial government to professionalize the administration of its colony, which won independence in 1947. Mohammed's father, an engineer, was a civil servant, and his wife is also a public service worker as a database administrator for the state of New Jersey.

Paperless office

"The main driving force behind my wanting to work for the city was my father," he said, explaining his attraction to civil service and the public sector.

At HRA, Mohammed's in-house title is LAN (local area network) Administrator. He leads a team of 18 computer workers who maintain the agency's "paperless office" and other computer applications that help the 1 million welfare recipients who visit 40 work sites to get their benefits.

Last year, the Dept. of Information Technology honored Mohammed's work at HRA with an Excellence in Technology award. The award cited his management and coordination of improvements in HRA's huge computer network, including significantly reducing system downtime.

He is deeply involved in the agency's model office project, which aims to improve efficiency with state-of-the-art equipment, such as LED display screens and ticket printers to route clients to appropriate service groups.

Currently, Mohammed is working on a project to provide field workers with hand-held scanners so they can copy documents during home visits and download them back at the office.

As a civil servant, Mohammed believes the city should keep as much information technology work in-house as possible, because municipal IT employees can match the skills of their private-sector counterparts.

Citing the corrupt CityTime automated payroll project with its huge cost overruns and federal arrests of several contractors, Mohammed said he believed contracted-out jobs need more accountability and transparency. Last year, DC 37 successfully convinced the City Council to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto of an amendment to strengthen regulations on contracting.

Looking back on his years at HRA, Mohammed said he was especially proud of helping implement the paperless office project, which has boosted productivity-and saved a lot of trees.

"By removing the paperwork, we have brought efficiency and accountability into the work process," Mohammed said.