By ANN WIDGER, Administrator, DC 37 Retirees Association

With your participation and engagement, the DC 37 Retirees Association accomplished big milestones in 2025. Just this year, we added more than 3,500 new retiree members – an increase of 15% – to our ranks, and we are adding more every day. DC 37 retirees have also increased their PEOPLE contributions by $24,000 or 30% compared to this time last year, and almost 9% of Association members are MVPs! Our retirees also stepped up and took action this year, making their voices heard on city council proposals and in Albany and by making thousands of phone calls during the 2025 primary and general elections.

We held our first in-person membership meetings since before the pandemic at the newly reopened DC 37 headquarters at 125 Barclay, while still holding regular virtual meetings for those who can’t meet in person. More than 200 retirees have joined us for each of those in-person meetings and an astounding 4,400 (17 percent of our membership) joined us for our virtual meetings either by phone or Zoom. Retirees were excited to have in-borough meetings in their communities and attended an Association meeting for the first time as a result. We hope to expand these local meetings to Long Island, Westchester, Northern NJ and Florida in 2026. Below is our tentative meeting schedule for 2026 – we hope to see you at a meeting next year!

In July, we welcomed two new staff members for the Association to help coordinate our activity and grow our union: Stephanie Darrisaw, Retiree Coordinator, and Trena Banks, Membership Specialist & Bookkeeper. We are in the process of hiring two additional positions. This fall, we started four new Retiree Committees, which meet monthly: Membership Recruitment & Engagement; Political & Legislative Action (including PEOPLE); Social & Community Engagement; and Policy & Governance. The committees have started meeting and are doing important work to help rebuild the leadership and culture of engagement among the Association’s almost 27,000 retired members.

While so much has been accomplished, we still have work to do to ensure a healthy and successful DC 37 Retirees Association in the future – and we need your help! We are looking for retirees who want to get more involved with the Association. If that’s you, please reach out to us at 212.815.1781 or retirees@dc37.net.

Tentative Retirees Association 2026 Meetings & Events

• January General Membership Meeting: Thursday, Jan. 29, 10:00 a.m. – VIRTUAL

• February General Membership Meeting: Thursday, Feb. 26, 10:30 a.m. – In Person – 125 Barclay St.

• March General Membership Meeting: Thursday, March 26, 10:00 a.m. – VIRTUAL

• In-borough Meetings: TBD April

• May General Membership Meeting: Thursday, May 28, 10:30 a.m. – In Person – 125 Barclay St.

• June General Membership Meeting: Thursday, June 15, 10:30 a.m. – In Person – 125 Barclay St.

• Summer Picnic and Outing: Saturday, July 25 – Time TBD

• August General Membership Meeting: Thursday, Aug. 27, 10:00 a.m. – VIRTUAL

• In-borough meetings: TBD Sept.

• October General Membership Meeting: Thursday, Oct. 22, 10:00 a.m. – VIRTUAL

• November General Membership Meeting: Thurs., Nov. 19, 10:30 a.m. – In Person – 125 Barclay St.

• Holiday Party: TBD Dec.

• Florida Meetings: TBD Feb. & Oct.