100 Suits for 100 Men celebrates Queens expansion
BY ALICIA VENTER
A new office space for the
nonprofit organization 100
Suits for 100 Men opened in
Laurelton on Friday, Sept. 24.
Elected officials and community
members at the event spoke
of reducing gun violence by
addressing root problems and
about placing those within the
community in employment to
prevent repeat offenders.
Among those at the ribbon
cutting at 227-12 A Merrick
Blvd. in Laurelton was Mayor
Bill de Blasio, who shared his
enthusiasm at the expansion of
the organization in Queens.
“Everyone at 100 Suits, you
made a decision long ago that
you would not accept a broken
society, that you would change
it,” de Blasio said. “And by your
example, by your love, by your
passion, by your commitment,
by your energy, every day
you are actually making that
change.”
100 Suits provides free business
attire to people to obtain
employment with companies
they work with citywide, with
free haircuts or wig referrals
also available. Their goal is to
reduce repeat offenses and the
recidivism rate — the tendency
of someone who’s been convicted
to reoffend — by helping formerly
incarcerated and homeless
people find employment.
Police officers and other
first responders, de Blasio
said, are not the only ones who
define public safety, nor can
they be, as “it doesn’t work.”
He was met with a round of applause
as he spoke about how,
though those in uniform do
important work, the community
based solution to violence
is the first and most necessary
solution.
“In fact, the truest best way
to create a safe and positive
society is from the people,” he
said. “It is from the community,
it is from the grassroots. We are
learning this together, but the
reason I wanted to be with you
besides thanking you is that we
have a task ahead to explain
this to the people in New York
City and ultimately this nation
that there is a different way.”
Also in attendance were
Kevin Livinsgton, the founder
and CEO of the organization
who kicked off the event, and
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards.
Livingston explained that
his experiences as a homeless
man in 2016 have fueled his
desire to enact change and reduce
violence across the city.
Having to sleep in the JFK airport
Mayor Bill de Blasio and southeast Queens elected officials celebrate the opening of new office space for 100 Suits for 100 Men in
Laurelton on Sept. 24. Photos by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Offi ce
parking lot, he was elated
at the chance to “cut history,”
and dedicated the opening to
his father and his uncle, both of
whom are dead.
Livingston then introduced
Richards, the first Black man
to hold the position and who
Livingston said is “changing
lives on a daily basis.”
Richards shared that his
personal experience with gun
violence is what fuels his dedication
to organizations such as
100 Suits, saying it makes him
even more appreciative of their
work.
“We know that when you’re
trying to find solutions to addressing
the systemic issues
in our communities, that the
people closest to the pain often
have the solution to the pain,”
he said.
By having people who have
experienced similar things and
come from the same community,
Richards said, 100 Suits is
able to enact change to get people
hired and out of the judicial
system.
TIMESLEDGER | Q 24 NS.COM | OCT. 1 - OCT. 7, 2021
Mayor Bill de Blasio tours the new office space.
/NS.COM
