Growing up, Hakim Jeffrey did not think much about politics. But people would often point out that his name sounded very similar to the name of his representative in Congress, a rising star in the House and fellow Brooklyn native.
“All of them would just tell me, ‘You should meet this man some day,’” Mr. Jeffrey said.
He brushed it off. Mr. Jeffrey, who lived in the Bay View Houses, a public housing development in Canarsie, thought of himself then as “just a regular 16-year-old boy from the projects.”
Then, at 18, he started working on a new farm at the development, one of several the New York City Housing Authority had helped build to provide healthy food for residents.
He loved it.
Before, he had been an introvert who skipped school to play video games. On the farm, he would give important people tours, showing how he grew chard, kale, tomatoes, squash, basil and other produce.
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