In Safe Hands For 10 Years: PS 179 Crossing Guard And Kensington Neighbor Donna Fisher

Donna Fisher is on the lookout.

8:15am on a weekday morning is prime time for school children arriving at PS 179 (202 Avenue C, between East 2nd and East 3rd Streets). Fisher has been a crossing guard at the intersection of Avenue C and East 3rd Street for a decade. While we’re talking about her daily life out here, she puts a gentle hand on my shoulder, as if to say, “I’ll be back in a moment.”

She swiftly heads over to the other side of Avenue C in order to shepherd a young girl across the street. She rests her right arm on the student’s left shoulder — only letting go when she’s stepped onto the sidewalk. And with what looks like a motherly push, Fisher sends the student on her way. “Bye, sweetie,” she says.

It’s a gesture she has repeated countless times over the last 10 years. She does so with vigor.

Fisher retired as a social worker for the City of New York over a decade ago. Her career focused on group homes for disabled children. “It was the only job I ever had,” she says.

“When I retired, I started watching t.v., a lot of t.v.” says Fisher. “I knew it was time to do something when I started screaming while watching Maury Povich. All of a sudden I’m talking to the television. ‘That’s not the baby’s mama! That’s not her mama!'”

Soon enough, she came across an article about crossing guards in the Daily News. “I read that they needed to be stable, mature, and like kids. Well, that’s me,” says Fisher.

Fisher lives only blocks down from PS 179 — at the corner of Ocean Parkway and Beverly Road. “My home isn’t too far away, but I never came over here before I started this job,” she recalls.

Since then, Fisher has been fascinated by the neighborhood. “It is so culturally diverse here. You have everyone coming to this school.”

“And some of them love making fun of my accent.”

Fisher speaks with a gentle Southern drawl — she’s a native of Alabama. “I remember these three little Jewish girls were walking by. They were dressed so nicely. I said to them ‘Good morning, ladies,’ and then they imitated my accent. ‘Good moh–or–nin, ladieeees!'”

She didn’t always feel part of the neighborhood. “I was nervous when I started. I was afraid I wouldn’t know how to relate. And I was worried that kids would have a certain idea about a black woman — that they would be afraid of me. Or that they thought I may mug them.”

We were soon joined by fellow crossing guard Peggy Alini. “I’ve been working here for nine years. Donna and I know each other pretty well.”

“Actually, we’re sisters from another mother,” says Fisher. The two crossing guards begin to laugh. Long after the picture was taken of the two of them, they had their arms wrapped around each other.

“People call us ‘Salt and Pepper,'” adds Alini. They smile at each other knowingly.

The conversation eventually moves towards the weather — a significant factor they have to deal with this time of year. The temperature that morning hovered around 28 degrees.

“You don’t know what Donna looks like after she takes off all the layer. She’s half the size,” says Alini.

Fisher smiles broadly as she lists the layers of clothing she is wearing. “You have to dress like this to be comfortable. Let’s see, I have on a pair of long johns, two pairs of flannel pajamas, two jackets. And we buy our shoes two sizes larger so we can wear two pairs of socks,” she says.

“And nothing can get twisted. It’s so uncomfortable if any of the clothing layers get twisted. You just have to avoid that,” she says.

As we finished up, the stream of students crossing the street began to thin out. However, Fisher is still on alert.

Fisher makes it clear that she takes ownership of the intersection and everyone who walks through it. “I found a lost 2-year-old kid last year. He was ok. I had to help a man out last month. His chest was hurting, so we got an ambulance for him. You have to be alert all the time,” she says.

“It seems that you have eyes in the back of your head,” I said.

Fisher smiled. “That’d help. Let me tell you. That’d be a lot of help.”