Transcript: Mayor Adams Announces $15 Million Investment to Connect 1,500 Justice-Involved and Impacted New Yorkers to Job Opportunities

February 6, 2025

Deputy Mayor Ana Almanzar, Strategic Initiatives: Thanks, everyone, for joining us today. Before we get started, I just want to thank our chef for preparing a delicious and very healthy meal with us today. We have [James, Kenneth, Denitza, Nathan, and Castillo]. Let's give them a round of applause. 

They were explaining their favorite dishes. Some of them are from Latin America. Some of them are very American. Some steak that I'm– all I can think about now is food. But to start the program, I want to thank you all for being here this afternoon for this special announcement as part of our Jobs Week. My name is Ana J. Almanzar, and I serve as your deputy mayor for strategic initiatives. 

Job creation is something that the Adams’ administration has prioritized from day one. A big part of that work includes creating and cultivating employment opportunities for youth and young adults. From DYCD, Summer Youth Employment Programs, which application system just opened a few weeks ago, to the career-connected apprenticeship and internships through CUNY and New York City public schools, ensuring our young people have money in their pockets and pathways to career success is something that I take very seriously. 

We are here today to celebrate the launch of a new employment initiative, Community Resources for Employment and Development, CRED. Through CRED, New Yorkers involved with the criminal legal system or in high risk for community violence will be eligible for training, internship, and job placement support. Commissioner Howard, who's with us today, will share more information about this very exciting program. But before I bring Commissioner Howard to the podium, I would like to invite the men with a strong and consistent vision for making jobs a top priority for our administration and for the city. Here to share more on Jobs Week, and the launch of CRED, it is the 110th mayor of the City of New York, my boss, Mayor Eric Adams. 

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Good stuff. Really, really excited. Good to be back here in Queens, Jamaica, where I grew up as a child. And being here to deliver this program and this announcement, Commissioner Howard, Deputy Mayor Ana, your entire team, this is just such an important initiative. Because people think because you hit a bend in the road, it's the end of the road. And all you have to do is make the turn. 

But to make that turn, we need to make sure that we give the support that people need as they move forward in their lives. And we have been doing that on every level. And this is an upstream model. I think about Archbishop Desmond Tutu stating, we spend a lifetime pulling people out of the river. But no one takes the time to prevent them from falling in the river upstream. And that's what this announcement is about, CRED. C-R-E-D. 

Commissioner Howard will go into great details on exactly how we're going to implement it. But it's about those who have been justice involved, those who found themselves involved in some form of the criminal justice system. It is a way for us to use our resources to go after 1,500 individuals who are going to receive a stipend, $20 an hour, as they receive the skills and employment that is needed so they can get back on the right pathway of being part of the great economy of our city. And it is in alignment with what we have done. 

We said it over and over again. This administration, we break records. For eight times in a row, we broke the job records of showing employment. We have more jobs in this city, in the city's history. But we didn't stop there. Because you could easily break a record, but if you don't go into the crevices of the communities, you're not lifting up the entire community, communities like Jamaica, Queens. 

We have increased and decreased unemployment in every demographic in the city, every demographic in the city. And Black and Brown unemployment, we have decreased by 20 percent by ensuring that we bring jobs. And then you add to the fact, we put billions of dollars, 33 percent of dollars in MWBEs, the first time in New York City history. We knew if we employ and use procurement dollars for MWBEs, they will hire locally, we would drop unemployment and we will find ways to have some CRED on the streets of Jamaica, Queens, and South Bronx, and Brownsville, and throughout the city. And that's what this initiative is about. It is about going into those communities that have been historically denied. 

This is not a Manhattan-centered administration. We're going into every neighborhood in the city and ensuring that they can benefit from the prosperity of this city and what it has to offer. We have left far too many people behind. Today is another notch on our belt in the Jobs Week of stating that no one is going to be left behind. This is one city, and everyone in this city must benefit from that. And because you've made a mistake in your life, you should not be permanently outcast, that you cannot get back on the right track. And we're hoping that this is one of the initiatives we're doing, we're putting in place to do so. So thank you to everyone involved. I'm going to turn it over to our amazing DYCD commissioner, Commissioner Howard. Thank you. Thank you.

Commissioner Keith Howard, Department of Youth and Community Development: So what do you say to a mayor who looked at the Department of Youth and Community Development and just challenged us to do more? Just basically starting off and saying, hey, you know what, we need to increase Summer Youth Employment from 75,000 to 100,000 in its first year. And then tackle that with saying, hey, you know, Summer Rising is another investment we need to do. 110,000 young kids just really going to summer camp and just having real funds out there at the time of learning and partnership with the Department of New York City Public Schools. But he didn't stop there. 

He said,okay, you know what? We need to open up the community centers and have Saturday Night Lights in 136 locations. So young kids, as part of his blueprint to end gun violence, let's keep them safe. And let's open up those schools and let's open up those community centers. He didn't stop there. He said, you know what? Our crisis management system, I'm going to invest money in there at a record number of $131 million with credible messengers out on the street doing prevention and intervention programs. 

CRED is just another program that our mayor, in his forward vision, said, you know what? We need to make sure that we're disturbing that prison pipeline. So it's a workforce program and it's a workforce program that targets specifically young people 18 to 40, paying them in cohorts to learn trades. And I'm not talking about just construction, although construction is great. But also teaching them and showing them how to get their commercial driver's license so that they can drive trucks. And we all know that truck drivers make a lot of money. So just drive trucks and tractor trailers and not stopping there. Well, what about our culinary? Brownsville Culinary Center, just having a workforce program to be able to produce chefs and things of that nature. And then just our amazing partners, like Danielle and Commonpoint, who is one of our CRED providers. Shout out to Danielle. I'm telling you, she's phenomenal. 

And then, so we're looking exactly how we're doing our level of investment, making sure that every New Yorker has access to services. And we're not, to the mayor's point, forgetting any New Yorker. And you can hear that in his State of the City. Doubling for fathers. 300 slots for fathers in our fatherhood program. 100 beds for our runaway homeless youth program. And just really talking about his initiative to make New York City the greatest place to raise a family. How can you not just give your applause and just say, basically, mayor, you have done it, and you continue to do it, and you continue to do it with programs like CRED. Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: Well, thank you, Commissioner Howard, for your leadership and commitment to this work. As he said, as the mayor mentioned earlier about the number of jobs that have been created by this administration under Mayor Adams' leadership and the reduction of unemployment not only for the entire population, but specifically for my community, the Latino community, and for our African-American community. Thank you, mayor, for all of that. 

And as Commissioner Howard said, we want to thank our host today, Commonpoint and their beautiful facility and all the programs that they are able to provide. A very comprehensive program we have with us. And Danielle Ellman, who has dedicated, what is it, 15 years working at Commonpoint. And we were talking earlier about the 80 different facilities throughout the city and growing, actually, in the Bronx. And this program and this partnership is just another evidence of how great Commonpoint has been to work with and what a great partner they have been to the DYCD and continue to be. And we're looking into the future as all we will be able to accomplish for the CRED program and for all the young men and women that will be able to serve under Danielle Ellman leadership. Thank you. Please join me on the podium. Thank you.

Danielle Ellman, CEO, Commonpoint: Thank you so much for those kind words. And first, a heartfelt thank you to Mayor Adams and his administration for investing in a more affordable New York City. Community providers like us, we need more tools in our toolkit, and you get that. And you keep helping us to figure out different ways to strategize and serve the community. And you also recognize that just because somebody makes one mistake doesn't mean that they're counted out. And so we are so excited to be a part of this pilot initiative launching CRED programming. 

Special thank you to Deputy Mayor Ana Almanzar and, of course, my buddy Keith, DYCD commissioner, for your tireless advocacy and support and for really understanding and listening to what the needs of the city is, to what the needs of our participants are. We recognize in places like Commonpoint the need to move people from crisis to stability. And we only can do so with skill gain, with credential-based programming, with supports like programs that started us off, like Advance and Earn and Train and Earn. And you're going to hear from a fabulous participant, Reina, in a second, about her experience and why these programs are so transformative. 

And the most important thing to understand is places like Commonpoint and my colleagues in the room, we are the town squares of New York City. And having those services and those resources and having this incredible toolkit to be able to provide meaningful, impactful services for community members, especially when you're down on your luck and you've made a mistake, they're life-changing. So thank you for helping us to move people from crisis to stability. We are so grateful. Reina, do you want to come up and share your story? 

Reina Perez: Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Reina Perez, and I'm here to tell you my story. About a year ago, I'd finished high school, but wasn't sure on what I wanted to do next, until a friend of mine had told me about Commonpoint, and I decided to apply. At orientation, I learned about all the different programs that were being offered, and I decided to pursue the certified nursing aid program. These classes provided me with all the tools I needed to know in order to pass the CNA licensing exam. In addition to these classes, I also attended support skills classes, and learned how to write cover letter, resumes, and even practice in mock interviews. 

Through Train and Earn, I also completed a paid internship at Fairview Nursing Home. After completing my CNA course, I went on to receive and earn my EKG and phlebotomy certifications as well. With all these certifications, I'm currently preparing to take on the patient care technician licensing exam. I would like to thank all the staff at Commonpoint who supported me and prepared me for a career in the medical field, and I would like to thank Mayor Eric Adams, Deputy Mayor of Strategic Initiatives, Ana Almanzar and DYCD Commissioner Keith Howard, for providing these opportunities for New Yorkers like me. Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Almanzar: Wow. And just a quick snapshot of what Commonpoint does. Reina is here with us, and supporting her, and just holding her hand throughout this entire process this afternoon, is [Channel], who's been working– I know, I want to put you on the spot– who has been working and making sure that Reina has all the support she needs in order to have a very successful career in the healthcare system, in a very, very needed career. So thank you, Reina. A very, very appropriate name of a queen for a young leader of the future. Now I'm gonna bring back Mayor Adams to close out the program.

Mayor Adams: Thank you and, it's so important, the fields that we're looking at, from truck drivers, we have a shortage of truck drivers. Nurses, we have a shortage of nurses. Food service workers, we have a shortage of food service workers. All of these fields are fulfilling our needs that we have in the city. So not only are we doing a lot for the participants, the participants are doing a lot for us. 

If we don't fill these occupations, construction workers, to continue to build out from our City of Yes Initiative, so many new units of housing, we're going to need trained electricians, trained plumbers, trained carpenters. So this is a symbiotic relationship for what we're doing here is going to feed the growth of the new jobs of the future. So we're open to a few questions.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor. I'm just wondering if you spoke about– speaking of jobs, I'm just wondering if you spoke about jobs or anything else with President Donald Trump while you were in D.C. or anyone else while you were in D.C. 

[Crosstalk.]

Mayor Adams: I was there to pray. You know, a great couple of thousand people there to pray. I don't know, everyone may not feel like I do, but prayer works. 

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor. You made it back on time. 

Mayor Adams: I always do. Welcome to my hood.

Question: You know, you mentioned about filling these jobs, you know, and there's all these migrants that came here over the last two years. Do you see any of them maybe participating in something like this and filling those needs of the city?

Mayor Adams: The employment workforce of those who are undocumented played a major role, not only getting us through COVID, but also played a major role every day doing jobs. And whoever's in this city, legally providing themselves for their family, we are going to be there for them. Those who commit violent crimes, acts that I've said over and over again, no matter who they are, documented or undocumented, we do not want them on the streets of New York.

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