Press Release

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 16, 2018

 

CONTACT: media@nycha.nyc.gov | (212) 306-3322

 

NYCHA HONORS SECOND COHORT OF GRADUATES FROM SANDY JOBS TRAINING PROGRAM

 

Second class of 21 Sandy-impacted NYCHA residents are graduating with skills for careers in the building and construction trades.

 

NYCHA residents from the first class are already being accepted into highly competitive local unions.

 

 

NEW YORK – Today, the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Office of Recovery and Resilience (ORR) hosted a graduation ceremony for 21 Superstorm Sandy-impacted residents who participated in the second class of NYCHA’s Pathways to Apprenticeships program. The 21 members of this graduating class come from NYCHA developments primarily on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and Gowanus, Brooklyn.

“At NYCHA, we are deeply committed to not only rebuild those communities impacted by Superstorm Sandy but also to provide life-changing career opportunities to those residents affected by the storm,” said NYCHA Vice President for Recovery and Resilience Joy Sinderbrand. “The members of this class will graduate with the skills needed to join trade unions and not only play a critical role in the rebuilding process of their own communities but have ongoing opportunities in construction around New York City.

Pathways to Apprenticeships offers classroom and hands-on construction training to Sandy-impacted NYCHA residents. The program links graduates to work as an apprentice in the building and construction trades unions. During the program, residents receive a stipend of $250 each week, a MetroCard for transportation, a helmet, work boots, and assorted equipment. Graduates will also receive Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10-hour certification and Scaffold Safety certification. 

NYCHA’s pre-apprenticeship training programs have already delivered promising results. In a partnership between NYCHA and IBEW Local Union No. 3, 10 graduates from the Sandy Pre-Apprenticeship program and the NYCHA Resident Training Academy  were recently accepted into the Local 3 Apprentice Training Program, a rigorous five-year, paid, on-the-job training program with excellent benefits and night-time academic classes to further enhance apprentices’ education and skills.

“The Apprentice Training Program of the Joint Industry Board of the Electrical Industry, Local Union #3/National Electrical Contractor Association, is committed to offering positions as Apprentice Electricians to New York City Housing Authority residents. We have worked closely with NYCHA’s Resident Training Academy since 2015, providing employment and training opportunities for residents,” said George Schuck, Director of Apprentice Training, Joint Industry Board of the Electrical Industry. “This partnership has benefitted both the Electrical Industry as well as the residents who have entered our Apprentice Training Program to learn the electrical trade. We look forward to growing this partnership and continuing to provide opportunities for residents of New York City public housing.”

NYCHA ORR, part of the Authority’s Capital Projects Division, is managing recovery and resilience work at 33 NYCHA developments. This ongoing capital work has created over 750 new jobs in New York City already, of which almost 300 have gone to NYCHA residents. NYCHA residents are given top priority when new hires are considered on any NYCHA project.

NYCHA secured $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund a pre-apprenticeship program for Sandy-impacted NYCHA residents. This investment ensures our residents have a clear pathway to not only gaining employment but the opportunity to start a career in construction over the next several years.

Pathways to Apprenticeships is part of NYCHA’s Sandy Recovery Pre-Apprenticeship Program, which aims to train 100 NYCHA residents annually.

“When Superstorm Sandy struck New York City five years ago, our public housing took a direct hit,” said State Senator Brian Kavanagh, who represents thousands of public housing residents on the Lower East Side. “As the New York City Housing Authority undertakes the enormous task of repairing the damage and making our public housing communities more resilient, it’s great that local residents will have the opportunity to train for a stable career and contribute to the work. Congratulations to these graduates!”

“I want to congratulate the graduates of the Sandy job training program. Pathways to Apprenticeships is a critical program that helps create positive change for NYCHA tenants, but we still need to do more for our NYCHA residents. Many of the NYCHA developments in my district were impacted heavily by Superstorm Sandy, and there is still a lot of recovery and resiliency work to be done at these buildings,” said Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou. “We should be putting the utmost effort into training and hiring even more NYCHA residents to complete some of this work. After all, no one knows these developments better than the individuals who live there. Thank you to NYCHA for overseeing the Sandy Recovery Pre-Apprenticeship Program, and I look forward to working together to promote more jobs and economic mobility for our residents.”

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About the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)

NYCHA’s mission is to increase opportunities for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers by providing safe, affordable housing and facilitating access to social and community services. Almost 400,000 New Yorkers reside in NYCHA’s 325 public housing developments around the five boroughs, and another 235,000 receive subsidized rental assistance in private homes through the NYCHA-administered Section 8 Leased Housing Program. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/nycha, and for regular updates on NYCHA news and services, connect with us via www.facebook.com/NYCHA and www.twitter.com/NYCHA.