SuperNeighbors are the lifeblood of OneRoof. They’re the people who bring their building together in the name of community. Thanks to them, hangouts happen, friendships are made, and incredible moments unfold. We’re deeply grateful to them!
Today we’re featuring a generous SuperNeighbor, Eric Bi.
I sat down with Eric on Zoom for this conversation. If you’d prefer to watch rather than read, you can tune in here 🎤.
I spent my childhood living in New Jersey. I went to Rutgers University to study criminal justice and graduated in 2013 with my master's degree. Then I found a job in New York City, working at the Port Authority as a Records Admin Specialist. It's my job to safeguard our government's top secret documents from falling into the wrong hands. It sounds very exciting and dangerous, but in reality, I mostly need to make sure everyone who does access them has the proper clearances.
Since then, I've been living in Jersey City and ended up in Southampton.
I first heard about OneRoof from a postcard in the mail. Back then, I only had one best friend and I wanted to expand my social circle. So I signed up, and told some people about it. The OneRoof team noticed that I was really active on the app, and that I tried to organize my own events. I just didn’t have many resources to create bigger events. So they offered to make me a SuperNeighbor so I could start hosting bigger things.
I’ve actually been able to start a community in Oneroof. My most successful event was a bagel brunch, where we had over 20 people at the event.
It’s 35 floors, I think we have around a thousand people.
It started out slow, but we gained traction over time. It was mostly through word of mouth. We have 213 members right now, and 10-20 core members who we can trust to reliably show up to events and participate in the online marketplace.
They occasionally host their own events. Most of the community members host birthday parties for other members of the building. They also help me with the setup of the events that I host. I’m very appreciative of that!
It’s really amazing how close we’ve gotten. My neighbors have told me that they’re very grateful because they often feel lonely and isolated in the building. They feel by themselves, and OneRoof makes it easier for them to make friends. Apps like OneRoof have been very important for them to make community connections.
Yes! When they found out, they threw me a huge party. We went to a fancy Italian restaurant in the Grove Street area. We had fun! We got food, and went to a local bar with arcade games. They know I really love video games!
I’m hosting an event tomorrow for pumpkin carving. I bought a bunch of pumpkins and carving utensils, and we’ll be hanging out in the lounge so that neighbors can come with their kids. For me it’s very exciting because I never got to carve a pumpkin as a kid, and lots of my friends probably never have, either.
When I first moved to the city I had literally no social life whatsoever. Now that I’m a SuperNeighbor I think I’m more willing to speak up on behalf of my community. I’m always one of the first people looking for new ways to make events. I’m more outspoken. And I think it’s really helped both me and my community grow in ways that I wouldn’t have dreamed before.
Well, I know my community is more open to talking to each other. I know one or two of my community members were shy, but they found people to connect with in the building. They were able to open up more. And like the people who hosted my birthday party, they probably wouldn’t have done that before joining OneRoof. It’s been a really profound experience for all of us.
Right now, we are really close. Like, I don't think I can imagine living in this building without them anymore. They’ve become such a steadfast part of my life. Now, like whenever I look up opportunities for new experiences, or new events or new places to have dinner, I always somehow end up thinking about oh, can I make this an event? What would the people in my building enjoy?
I think about how I can do stuff not to just enrich my own life, but to create a sense of community in the building. Because as I said, in a city with millions of people, it is really hard to get your roots down. You have to have a foundation, and I want to be able to provide that for people who might not be able to connect with others on their own.
I see my work with OneRoof not just as a hobby, but as a second job. I put one hundred percent into it.
It’s always going to have its ups and downs. It’s not always going to be easy. Getting members is kind of like going on job interviews. You’re going to hear yes, and you’re going to hear no. Keep trying to find people who aren’t just looking for fun events, but who are looking to connect with other people. Even if your event is technically a complete flop, you’ll still have lots of people who are seeking connection. You’ll be introducing people to each other no matter what. And then all of your future events will be even better!
-p-500.jpeg)
