Obituary

William (Bill) Jett

September 21, 1962 - November 27, 2022

William (Bill) Jett left this world on November 27 at Montefiore Wakefield Hospital. He was 60 years old.

Husband, brother, father, friend to many, and environmental advocate and activist, Bill was a voracious reader and thinker who brought engaging energy and a smile to everything he did. He always wanted to make the world cleaner, greener, and a better place for all.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Bill was passionate about creating sustainable communities and promoted engagement in environmental work to create safe spaces for open communication and healing and for embracing democracy as a way of life.  Bill was a devoted practitioner of Sangha meditation and mindfulness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh.

As the inaugural Fleet Manager at GrowNYC, Bill worked to develop GrowNYC’s fleet safety program and led sustainability planning for the eventual conversion of GrowNYC’s fleet to electric vehicles. Bill served GrowNYC for over a decade, first as a volunteer starting in 2011, then as a compost coordinator and compost/textile driver. From 2013 to 2020, working with the New York City Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE), he helped OROE divert over 7 million pounds of food scraps from the main waste stream into compost. In 2020, he was asked to create the position of Fleet Manager and lead the GrowNYC fleet.

Bill graduated from Bard College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies. He then graduated from NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service with a Master of Urban Planning degree. Bill was a member of the Board of Advisors of the neuroscience education nonprofit organization Good Wolf and a longtime, active supporter of the Bard Prison Initiative.

Bill is survived by his wife, Najah Amatul-Ali; a sister, Dru Priscilla Jett; a daughter, Safiya Baraka Jett; stepdaughters, Zainab Meftah, Haajar Meftah, and Salma Meftah; and a stepson, Yahya Meftah. He also leaves many colleagues and friends who will forever miss his positivity, vibrancy, and passion for life.

A memorial service and viewing will be held Monday, December 5th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, at Islamic International Funeral Services, 4123 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232, with funeral prayer at 12:15 pm. A green burial, including the planting of a tree, will follow immediately afterward at the Rosendale Plains Cemetery, 793 Springtown Rd, Tillson, NY 12486. Information on a gathering following the burial will be provided when preparations are complete.

The family has asked that any memorial donations be made to GrowNYC (https://www.grownyc.org/) or the Bard Prison Initiative (https://bpi.bard.edu/).