Growing with Google
Tech giant partners with CUNY to bolster digital literacy
BY ISABEL SONG BEER
Google announced a new
partnership with four
New York City CUNY
schools intended to serve Latino
students and help them
navigate digital literacy to
enter the workforce.
The Grow with Google HSI
(Hispanics Serving Institutions)
Career Readiness program will
see $2 million allocated through
the Hispanic Association of Colleges
and Universities (HACU)
to educate over 200,000 Latino
nationwide by 2025. Grow with
Google will partner with Bronx
Community College, Guttman
Community College, Hostos
Community College, and Borough
of Manhattan Community
College, all of which have historically
have served students
of color, in particular Latino
students. The goal of the partnership
is to bridge the technological
gap that Latino students
encounter when trying to enter
the workforce.
“Through this partnership,
LOCAL NEWS
People walk by a CUNY campus in the city.
students will have even more
access to critical digital and jobreadiness
training that will help
ensure they have access to goodpaying
jobs,” said Rep. Ritchie
Torres (NY-15). “I’m thrilled to
see the Google Career Readiness
program implemented in
our community and look forward
CUNY/CHRIS COOPER
to its positive impact on
our students and their futures.”
Latino workers face systemic
barriers when it comes to economic
success, largely because
of a lack of digital literacy needed
to succeed in higher-paying
jobs. Over 80% of U.S. jobs
require digital skills, but 55% of
Latinos have little to no digital
skills training making it harder
for them to gain higher-paying
opportunities. With more and
more job opportunities requiring
workers to have a higher
level of online or digital understanding,
a large portion of the
working population is being excluded
from the conversation.
“Ensuring Hispanic-Serving
Institutions have the resources
available to help students excel
in the workforce is crucial in
today’s competitive job market,”
said HACU President and CEO
Antonio R. Flores. “We are excited
to partner with Google
on this innovative initiative and
collaborate with HSIs to offer
career services for students to
graduate with the digital skills
and training that can expand
their employment prospects.”
With the HACU partnership,
the Grow with Google HSI Career
Readiness program intends
to fund HSI career centers and
provide a semester-long inperson
and online digital skills
training program. The initiative
will combine career workshops,
career counseling, and instruction
on design thinking, project
management and professional
brand building. Participating
schools will also receive guidance
to create additional material
tailored to student needs.
“Grow with Google is a roadmap
to career success,” said Niesha
Ziehmke, Associate Dean
for Academic Affairs at Guttman
Community College in an
interview with amNew York. “It
helps students get really ready to
walk into either an internship or
a job. The idea is that we build
strong places throughout the
curriculum so students get digital
and career skills tools refi
ned to go into the workplace.”
As the partnership went live
Monday, Google also expressed
excitement about the future with
HSI’s and CUNY institutions.
“Google is proud to work with
leading Latino-serving organizations
to advance access to digital
skills and workforce training
in the Latino community,” said
Ana Corrales, Chief Operating
Offi cer for Google’s Devices
and Services. “Together with
organizations like the Hispanic
Association of Community Colleges
and Universities, we aim to
help bridge wealth and opportunity
gaps in the Latino community,
so that everyone has an opportunity
to succeed in today’s
digital economy.”
Daily ferry service expanded
to Governors Island
BY JESSICA PARKS
Brooklynites will soon be
able to board the ferry
to Governors Island
year-round, as the urban playground
will be added to the
southern Brooklyn ferry route.
“We’re proud to deliver on
the promise of daily, year-round
ferry service to Governors Island
as part of our continuing
expansion of NYC Ferry’s fi veborough
network, which has
become an integral part of New
York’s transportation system
and the City’s recovery,” said
city Economic Development
Corporation President and Chief
Executive Offi cer Rachel Loeb.
“We join Mayor Adams in congratulating
the Trust for Governors
Island and all of our partners
who have worked so hard
to turn this vision into reality.”
The city Economic Development
Corporation and Trust for
Governors Island announced
the new opening in a joint statement,
promising to deliver service
to Governors Island from
Brooklyn by Jan. 24 — which
will be a stop between Sunset
Park’s Brooklyn Army Terminal
and Red Hook — to accommodate
the recreational island’s
winter hours from 7 am to 6 pm.
The southern Brooklyn route
will service Governors Island
weekdays and on non-summer
weekends in conjunction with
daily ferries from Lower Manhattan.
During peak ridership
on summer weekends, direct ferry
rides to Governors Island will
open up from Brooklyn Bridge
Park-Pier 6 and Red Hook in addition
to continued service from
Wall Street/ Pier 11.
When the new service
launches, the Southern Brooklyn
line will make stops at Bay
Ridge, Sunset Park, Governors
Island, Red Hook, Atlantic Ave/
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Wall
Street/Pier 11, Dumbo and
Corlears Hook.
Once the highly-controversial
Coney Island Ferry route
launches, slated for late-2022
after announcing a yearlong
delay, the southern Brooklyn
route will terminate at Governors
Island and no longer serve
Sunset Park and Bay Ridge —
which will both be moved to two
separate lines, Bay Ridge will
switch to the Coney Island route
and Sunset Park will be on the
Rockaway line.
The incoming Coney Island
route will only make stops at
Coney Island, Bay Ridge and
Wall Street Pier 11 and the updated
Rockaway route would go
from Rockaway to Sunset Park
to Wall Street — taking away
crucial Brooklyn connections
between Bay Ridge, Sunset Park
and Red Hook. The Southern
Brooklyn line would no longer
travel to southern Brooklyn,
with the last Brooklyn stop in
northerly Red Hook.
Governors Island has
MAP COURTESY OF NYC FERRY
been increasingly accessible
throughout the course of
the pandemic as the city and
Trust for Governors Island announced
in September that the
island would be opened to the
public year round for the fi rst
time in history, and just earlier
this week announced that dogs
will be allowed on Saturdays
from 7 am to 3 pm at the new
dog park behind Liggett Terrace,
which started Jan. 22.
20 January 27, 2022 Schneps Media