New York City is taking a big step towards creating more equitable job opportunities for its residents. On Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams announced the city’s first-ever community hiring initiative, leveraging over $1.2 billion in city contracts to provide well-paying jobs to underserved New Yorkers.
The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) has rolled out the city’s first request for proposal (RFP) specifically tailored for community hiring, targeting services such as security guards and fire safety personnel across the five boroughs.
These contracts mandate that 40% of the labor hours be allocated to individuals living in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) accommodations or in areas where at least 15% of the population is below the federal poverty threshold.
Mayor Adams emphasized the importance of this approach, stating, “Today, we are sending a clear message: if you want to work with the City of New York, you need to put the community first.”
He added that the initiative is set to revolutionize how the city engages with and uplifts neighborhoods that have historically been overlooked, ensuring that job creation reaches every corner of the metropolis.
The initiative is expected to create an estimated 10 million hours of prevailing wage job opportunities over a five-year contract term.
These positions will include supervisors, field inspectors, managers, and emergency action plan and fire safety directors.
The Office of Community Hiring (OCH) will collaborate with DCAS to match qualified candidates with these opportunities, further supported by 40 hours of complimentary training for new hires.
First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright highlighted the broader impact of this legislation, saying, “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.”
Wright continued, “With the launch of this effort, we are leveraging $1.2 billion worth of contracts to create job opportunities for individuals from NYCHA and low-income neighborhoods. This is a true commitment to ensuring that New York City works for every New Yorker.”
The initiative also extends its impact to the business sector by mandating city agencies with under $1.5 million annual expenditure on security services to engage with pre-qualified minority- and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBEs).
Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer noted that the city is progressing well ahead of schedule toward its ambitious target of creating 30,000 apprenticeships by 2030, with expectations to offer over 14,000 opportunities by the end of 2024.
Since the inception of the Office of Community Hiring and through concerted efforts with state leaders and workforce organizations, the Adams administration has made significant strides in reducing unemployment rates among Black New Yorkers.
From January 2022, the Black unemployment rate in the five boroughs has decreased from 10.7% to 7.9%, marking the first time in half a decade that it has fallen below 8%.
The city has also launched “Run This Town,” a multimedia advertising campaign designed to attract diverse New Yorkers and assist them in applying for thousands of available city government jobs.
