Staff

Water Street 2008 - 2009 Staff

Nekesa Straker - CDE
Born and raised in NYC. She has a BA in Political Science from Vassar College and a MA in Student Development from Seattle University. In her spare time shelikes cooking, watching documentaries, hanging out in Brooklyn, and watching people try to hail taxis from my window. She looks forward to getting to know Water Street residents throughout the year through creative programs and judicial hearings!

Tony Fangel - ACDE

Kelly Zekas - 2nd Floor RA
Kelly Zekas was born in the middle of nowhere, grew up in the middle of nowhere and decided to come to NYU because of that. She went to a boarding school for high school and tries not to thing about that too much. She is utterly insane, likes raspberries, acting, green, Russell Crowe and wandering around NYC late at night. She is in Tisch drama with a double major in Sociology.

Josh Xaiver - 3rd Floor RA
Joshua Xavier was born in Providence, Rhode Island and enjoyed hitting baseballs over fences growing up. He is a drummer and sings in the shower every morning. He enjoys reading and eating Spanish, Italian, or soul food. He hopes to improve the quality of life of as many people as possible while on earth. He loves animals especially those in Africa and would like to move to Ethiopia upon retiring. He loves his mom, dad, brother, and the Boston Red Sox very much. He is pre-law.

Dani Tufano - 4th Floor RA
Dani Tufano is the 4th floor RA and a junior in Steinhardt majoring in Educational Theatre. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Dani has called Water Street home for two school years and a summer (and has loved every minute of it). In her spare time, Dani can be found teaching Improvisation and Shakespeare to middle and high school students, watching 24/Ace of Cakes/Grey’s Anatomy/Sex and the City/Disney movies/Project Runway/MythBusters/Top Chef, and trying to tidy up her ever disorganized room. She has been hailed by her students as “nicer than lollipops and rainbows.” Dani wants to be a Disney princess when she grows up but will probably wind up being an actress and/or high school drama teacher. Dani’s favorite things are (in no particular order): the Water Street staff, Peeps, Shakespeare, food, Walt Disney World, cute animals, coloring books, acting, Diet Coke, and DSP.

Owen Buckley - 5th Floor RA
If you can’t tell already this is Sir Owen Buckley descendant of people that had come before him, not after. Many aren’t aware of this but he had nothing to do with the current financial crisis yet he will tell you how it can be solved, for a small consultants fee. Well meaning and born of good stock, he is looking forward to a productive and challenging year. He wants you to know that you have a very high chance of being a great person, so throw your arms around yourself and get into a bear hug.

Cameron Smith - 6th Floor RA

Chandra Russel - 8th Floor RA

E Carr - 9th Floor RA
E is a senior studying drama at Tisch in the Experimental Theatre Wing and darn proud of it! She likes to run through sprinklers (or jump into ponds…or the ocean), swordfight (if you see someone walking around with a sword…that’s her!), and discuss the brilliance of comic books/fantasy novels. Actors she admires include Meryl Streep (for her natural talent), Cate Blanchett (for her versatility), Katherine Hepburn (for her strength), Grace Kelly (for her elegance) and Cary Grant (for his everlasting sexiness). E’s favorite stone is amethyst and she is a fierce and passionate Leo. One day she plans on having a lion…and a dragon…and a pack of wolves – all at different times of course. Last but not least, she would like to mention her admiration for Phoebe Buffay. Peace.

Steven Shanab - 10th Floor RA
Steven is a junior in CAS, majoring in “saving the world”, minoring in “one resident at a time”. He has spent the past year in Brazil, teaching underprivileged children the art of Wii tennis and boxing. He likes to think of himself as an “all-around badass”, which is basically true. If there were one word in Webster’s dictionary that could define Steven, it would be “false”. Also, if you hear the words, “Hey girl hey!” in the hallway, just ignore it. It’s most likely Steven being his usual self.

Monse Barrerra - 11th Floor RA
Monse is an OG from the streets. She enjoys YOUR MOM….’s home cookin’, water, shelter, and sending warm thoughts and positive energy to her fish Danny Ocean. She doesn’t enjoy wet socks or humidity. If she were a Pokemon she would be perpetually stuck inside the pokeball. HELP!!

Greg T. Gordon - 12th Floor RA
Greg is thrilled to be living at Water Street as the 12th floor RA this year. A junior film major at Tisch School of the fArts, Greg has written, produced, and directed dozens of short films and music videos, and is currently working on several projects, both student and professional. Raised by wolves, Greg is currently working in the development of new films at Sharp Independent and is the producer for Kneeon! pictures. At the age of 14, Greg spotted Subway’s own Jared Fogel eating a toasted sandwich at Quizno’s. A firm believer in justice, Greg contacted the authorities immediately. Greg is now credited as the man responsible for bringing Jared Fogel to justice.

Sandy Myers - 14th Floor RA
She’s the RA for the 14th floor. Sandy is a senior in CAS studying history, environmental studies, and politics, and she hopes to practice environmental law someday in the future. She is originally from East Brunswick, New Jersey, though she hopes to stay in New York City after she graduates. In Water Street, Sandy is one of the co-advisors for H200, Water Street’s Hall Council, so feel free to get in touch with her if you have any questions or ideas for programs!

Maayan Shemesh - 15th Floor RA
Maayan Shemesh is proud to be from Jersey. She is Israeli, and fluent in Hebrew. She is currently a senior studying Social Work and Nutrition. She is the best RA of them all, and resides on the 15th floor.

Roman Smukler - 16th Floor RA
Roman is a the RA on the 16th floor and for the Pre-Leadership Explorations floor. He is currently a senior in Stern and major in Finance. His favorite TV shows are Heroes, Californication, and Entourage. He loves dogs, especially bull dogs!

Ashley Arbuckle - 17th Floor RA

Amir Kanpurwala - 18th Floor RA

Nicole Jeremiah - 19th Floor RA
Nicole is the 19th Floor RA. She is a senior in CAS, psychology/pre-med which is why she currently has no life! She loves to dance and loves to listen to music, so if you see her dancing somewhere, please join in. She is a Top Model fanatic and always thinks she is walking down a runway, with the big glasses and the wind in the hair posing for the camera, “click, click”. She is very proud to be representing Trinidad and Tobago because though she was not born there, she still feels that she is “trini to de bone.” She is very passionate about mental health, so you should check out her club Active Minds which helps to promote mental health awareness and strives to reduce stigmas attached to them. Also, Nicole’s life long goal is to help people long after she has passed through her research. Finally, she is very excited about making Water Street’s last year a great one!

Mina Kim - 20th Floor RA
If you ever see someone dashing in and out of Water St. most likely it’s Mina, the 20th floor RA. She is currently a senior set to graduate in May, and majors in Economics and History with a minor in Business Studies. Tenacious and loud, she has an interest and background in public policy and plans to attend law school in the future—you may find her rehearsing “I object” very loudly in the high-rise stairwell. In her spare time, she enjoys watching/discussing movies, dancing, and practicing her Spanish. Feel free to stop by her room or say hello in passing; although, make sure she has her glasses on first—she has poor vision yet tends to prop them on her head and brave the streets blind.

Brett Mayfield - 21st Floor RA

Dimitry Ekshtut - 22nd Floor RA

Tina Heo - 23rd Floor RA
Call her Tina. She’s a chill, caring RA who loves to bake and eat cinnamon sugar chips with hummus. She loves to have fun and socialize in the elevator, so don’t think it’s weird if she says hi and you don’t really know her. She is friendly and an all around optimistic person. She’ll probably be smiling when you see me.

John Phair - 24th Floor RA

Alejandra Fernandez - 25th Floor RA

Jayme Figueroa - 26th Floor RA
Jayme draws and writes his own webcomic and loves playing fake guitar. He also quotes The Office way too much. Really, that’s pretty much it. That’s…what she said?

Kitty Yang - 27th Floor RA
Chuck Norris does not sleep; he waits. When Kitty is not waiting, she eats cheesecake, appreciates math in all its beauty, and lives each day striving to be more and more like Tina Fey. Stop by 2713 or the office to observe her in her natural habitat!

Allison Buysse - 28th Floor RA
Allison enjoys eating mint chocolate chip ice cream, but only if it is green (she also questions why anybody would make white mint chocolate chip). She likes to avoid studying for her pre-med classes by coloring, pretending to be a rock star, dancing very badly when no one is looking, and watching the Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins. If you see her running in the morning, don’t be too intimidated, you could probably walk as fast as she jogs (soft J). Tree Ohmz for life.

Aaron Kinnari - 29th Floor RA

Jeremy Lubin - 30th Floor RA

Dominique Toney - 31st and PH RA
Dominique Toney is a naturally curly, born and bred California who adores cooking, kissing puppies, and dreaming. She doesn’t drink enough water and cares what you think of her. IF YOU RUN INTO HER PLEASE SAY HI. P.S. you will catch her singing loudly in the elevators because they have good acoustics.