14 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 31, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
in Queens
Mayor boosts workforce training as Amazon heads to LIC
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
As it gears up for the full arrival of
Amazon’s HQ2 campus in Long Island
City is the coming years, the de Blasio
administration announced Jan. 28 it is
off ering up to $300,000 in micro-grants
to qualifi ed organizations that specialize
in workforce development.
Th e grants will support research and
planning into innovative approaches the
city could take to promote training and
hiring of underrepresented New Yorkers
in tech and other in-demand sectors.
“Preparing New Yorkers for the jobs
of tomorrow and making sure those
jobs are accessible to residents from all
Photo via Getty Images
backgrounds with diff erent skill sets is
critical to leveling the economic playing
Lancman bill to boost domestic violence survivor services passes Council
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e New York City Council unanimously
passed Queens City Councilman
Rory Lancman’s bill on Jan. 23 requiring
the Mayor’s Offi ce to end domestic
and gender-based violence to provide
individuals receiving services at Family
Justice Centers with service satisfaction
surveys.
Th e Committee on Women formally
considered the legislation, Intro. 542,
in October 2018 and passed it on Jan. 23.
“Domestic violence and abuse survivors
deserve our full support to help them in
their time of need.” said Lancman. “Client
feedback is essential to ensure that Family
Justice Centers continue to provide eff ective
and effi cient services. My legislation
will allow Family Justice Centers and survivors
to work collaboratively to improve
services and set priorities.”
Th e satisfaction surveys, which are not
mandatory and will remain anonymous,
enable survivors to indicate which FJC
services are useful, which need to be
altered, and what changes must be made
to better assist them. Th e city is required
to submit an annual report to the Council
of survey questions asked and all survey
data, broken down by borough and type
of service received.
Lancman’s legislation comes as domestic
and gender-based violent crime rates
have remained resistant to the steady
reduction of the overall crime rate in
the city. In 2017, the NYPD responded
to more than 108, 821 intimate-partner
related domestic violence abuse, a 16 percent
increase from the previous year.
New York City Family Justice Centers
provide legal services, counseling, job
training, and housing assistance to survivors
of domestic abuse, human traffi cking
and elder abuse in all fi ve boroughs.
In 2017, the Family Justice Centers served
62,645 individuals.
“As the nation’s largest victim assistance
organization, Safe Horizon acutely
recognizes that survivors’ experience with
systems and service providers designed to
address their needs should be periodically
evaluated to ensure that the highest quality
of care is being consistently delivered,”
said Michael Polenberg, vice president
of Government Aff airs at Safe Horizon.
“Council Member Rory Lancman’s legislation,
Intro. 542, will require service
satisfaction surveys are available to New
Yorkers who visit any of the City’s fi ve
Family Justice Centers and can help make
sure that services are aligned with their
safety needs.”
Alisha Bailey, DV Survivor and
Alternatives to Incarceration Counselor
at Th e Fortune Society, said collecting
feedback will “hopefully lead to more
informed decision making.”
“Evaluating and refl ecting on how a
program is performing from the perspective
of the participants is a critical
tool for identifying opportunities for
improvement as well as ways to capitalize
on existing strengths, said Bailey. “At
Th e Fortune Society, we hope this law will
translate into better participant engagement,
longer retention rates, and healthier,
safer communities.”
Stephanie Nilva, executive director
of Day One, which partners with youth
to end dating abuse and domestic violence,
believes that young people can provide
valuable contributions to the effi cacy
of city services to address their unique
needs.
“Day One applauds today’s City Council
vote requiring the Mayor’s Offi ce to End
Domestic and Gender Based Violence to
provide satisfaction surveys to constituents
at the Family Justice Centers,” said
Nilva. “Critically important services are
delivered in the fi ve FJCs, and feedback
from survivors should play a central role
in their operation.”
fi eld,” the New York City Economic
Development Corporation President and
CEO James Patchett said. “We are excited
to partner with the Offi ce of Workforce
Development to catalyze innovative
workforce training programs that will
help ensure New Yorkers are ahead of the
game as the city’s tech sector booms.”
Th rough a request for expressions of
interest, known as an RFEI, the Mayor’s
Offi ce of Workforce Development and
the NYCEDC will work with community
based organizations with funds to
develop eff ective, innovative programmatic
concepts the city and its partners
can use to help ensure local talent is prepared
to access new hiring tech opportunities.
Th e grant funds will be used by experienced
organizations with a track record of
providing job training and placement services
to New Yorkers to support research
tasks, hiring of new staff to work on plan
development, and similar start-up costs.
“I am delighted that the city is investing
critical resources and funding towards
advancing career readiness programs and
helping underrepresented communities
enter the tech industry,” Congresswoman
Carolyn Maloney said. “With the addition
of Amazon, NYC has further cemented
itself as a world tech hub and I am glad
to support programs that create tangible
benefi ts for New Yorkers and support
their entrance to this lucrative fi eld.”
Organizations are encouraged to
respond by making a request for funding.
Such requests will be based on the
need for and for expected use of funds
described in the respective responses.
“Expanded educational programs will
help ensure that our city’s residents attain
competitive jobs in the tech industry,”
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan said.
“Of course, more needs to be done but
I will continue to advocate for eff ective
adult education programs for the people
of our district.”
In November, Amazon announced it
was coming to Long Island City and planning
to fi ll 25,000 new jobs over the next
10 years that pay an average salary of
$150,000 per year. In December, Google
announced it was planning to double its
NYC workforce to nearly 14,000 workers
by 2022.
“Hiring local talent is a must-have for
the Amazon deal, and this RFEI looks to
prepare for this massive economic development
opportunity by tapping into and
maximizing the potential for our diverse
workforce,” City Councilman Peter Koo
said. “Education, skills training and workforce
development are all on the table, and
now is the time to fully examine how best
we can capitalize on the long-term commitment
to good and sustainable jobs.”
City Councilman Paul Vallone, the
chair of the Committee on Economic
Development, agreed.
“With HQ2 coming to Long Island
City, New Yorkers must be guaranteed
that they will have the opportunity to
obtain the high paying jobs Amazon will
create,” Vallone said. “Targeting youth
and workforce development will be critical
in ensuring that residents have the
skills and the education to succeed in
these jobs. I look forward to seeing the
results of this RFEI and working with
the EDC as we prepare New Yorkers to
reap the maximum benefi ts of Amazon’s
move.”
File photo/THE COURIER
City Councilman Rory Lancman's bill to increase services for domestic violence victims passed the
City Council last week.
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