Local 237 President Carl Haynes last month appointed David Gonzalez, who began working for the Housing Authority in 1983 as a seasonal, to be the new business agent in the Housing Division to replace Aubrey Ferguson.

“Over the years I have come to know David through his participation in everything the union has worked to accomplish,” Haynes said. “He has shown an eagerness to assist his fellow workers that has been most impressive.”

A car buff, Gonzalez, born and raised in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, graduated from Lafayette High School and worked as an auto body repairman. He also attended New York City Technical College to study heat and energy systems.

Gonzalez began working for the HA in 1983 and his studies paid off. In 1985, he became a heating plant technician and was assigned to the Forest Hills Co-Op. Three years later, Gonzalez was made the resident HPT at Forest Hills and became the shop steward for Local 237 members in that development.

When Forest Hills was privatized, he was reassigned to Bland Houses in the College Point-Flushing area of Queens. Gonzalez was offered — and he refused — promotion to assistant superintendent prior to becoming a business agent for the Local.

Gonzalez met his wife, Karen, when he went to the bank where she worked to cash his paycheck. “It must have been the uniform,” he laughs, “She certainly didn’t marry me for my money.”

The couple have a daughter, Carmen, who was born only two months ago. When not working or changing diapers, he spends his spare time refurbishing old cars.