PEP, April 2007: Profiles in Public Service. Civil Service stars. Up from welfare.

As a postal worker, Lofton Johnson earned enough money to purchase an apartment and live a middle-class lifestyle.

But he found his work as a mail sorter incredibly boring. So, after seven years on the job, he abruptly quit.

“I lost my apartment because I wasn’t working,” said Johnson, reflecting upon his period on public assistance from 1992 to 1993. Unable to afford his own place, Johnson moved into his girlfriend’s apartment and scraped by on Food Stamps.

“I came from some pretty hard times,” said Johnson, 52. But he went from welfare to workfare in the Parks Opportunity Program at the Parks and Recreation Dept.
Starting out picking up debris in city parks, Johnson eventually talked his way into a workfare clerical desk job in the assistant commissioner’s office.

“It was a blessing,” said Johnson about workfare. “I saw the opportunity at Parks and took advantage of it,” he said.

You better believe he took advantage of it: By teaching himself to use the computer at work, Johnson, a high school graduate who is now six credits short of an associate’s degree, parlayed his experience on workfare into a full-time job. He recently received a prestigious award for distinguished public service.

On Dec. 20, Johnson and 14 fellow civil servants — including two other DC 37 members — received Isaac Liberman Public Service Awards for Career Civil Service Employees. The 100 Year Association of New York, which comprises more than 200 companies and non-profit organizations, has distributed more than $1 million to exemplary civil servants since its inception in 1927.

Today, Johnson works at the Parks Dept. garage on Randall’s Island. There, he is a Fleet Performance Analyst for the agency’s vehicle maintenance and repair program. Johnson’s civil service title is Clerical Associate 4, and he is a member of Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549.

The 100 Year Association honored Johnson for developing a computer program that monitors vehicle usage, repairs and accidents. By more closely tracking its fleet of 2,000 cars and trucks, the department has reduced its vehicle accidents by 30 percent and cut back on repairs by 30 percent.

“I keep track of our fleet of vehicles by maintaining records of accidents and getting preventive maintenance done,” Johnson said.

By using databases to create charts and graphs, Johnson helps his supervisors examine the history of vehicles in the city’s five boroughs and examine the driving records of operators to determine whether they need extra training.

“I just loved learning the computer,” Johnson said, looking back at his path from welfare to work. “My self-esteem skyrocketed. And today, I really love the challenge of what I’m doing.”