NYC initiative to help low-income NYers get good-paying jobs

NEW YORK (PIX11) – New York City is launching a new initiative to help low-income residents get hired for good-paying jobs, Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday.

Adams announced New York City’s first-ever “community hiring” initiative, which will leverage more than $1.2 billion worth of city contracts to create job opportunities for low-income residents.

As part of the initiative, companies that are contracted to work with the city will be required to hire a percentage of low-income New Yorkers and people who live in NYCHA housing.

The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services released a request for proposal (RFP) for an estimated $1.2 billion in contracts for security guard services and fire safety workers throughout the city.

The contracts awarded under the RFP will include a goal for 40% of the hours worked to be performed by people who live in NYCHA housing or in a ZIP code where at least 15% of the population lives below the federal poverty line.

“With this landmark RFP, we are bringing real, good-paying jobs to our neighbors in NYCHA and to ZIP codes across our city that have been forgotten for far too long. Together, we are building the economy of the future in a city where opportunity reaches every block, neighborhood, and borough,” Adams said in a statement.

Some of the job opportunities in this first community hiring effort will include security guards, security guard supervisors, field inspectors, field managers and more, city officials said.

New York City’s new community hiring initiative comes after the creation of the Office of Community Hiring. The office will work with contractors to provide job and apprenticeship opportunities for low-income residents.

Once fully implemented, New York City’s new community hiring initiatives are estimated to create 36,000 jobs each year for low-income residents, city officials said.

“With community hiring, not only are we ensuring that essential city services get done, but we are also ensuring that these services lead to real opportunities for underserved New Yorkers,” First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright said in a statement.