661 People Come to
Bronx Jobs Day to Apply for DEP Jobs
September 27, 2006
The city is shelling out more than
$1.5 billion to build a water filtration plant underneath
the former Mosholu Golf Course along Jerome Avenue. And with
all of that money and work comes plenty of jobs, but the big
question: who is getting all of those jobs?
That's why the North Bronx
Thinktank & Kingsbridge Heights Neighborhood Improvement
Association held a job fair on Friday at their community
office on 2805 University Ave .
The groups say the Department of Environmental Protection is
not doing enough to hire Bronx residents.
"We were promised the job growth and if the government
is slow on their feet, as they usually are, community
activists such as myself and other organizations will
make sure that job gets done," said executive director
of North Bronx Thinktank, Anthony Riviecco.
News of this small job fair spread all over the Bronx
and over 600 people showed up throughout the day.
The DEP says the first phase of the construction only
needed a little more than 100 workers. About 26 to 31
percent of those jobs went to Bronx residents. The
second phase calls for 600 to 700 construction jobs and
DEP says it hopes to employ as many local people as
possible, but it says it can not discriminate against
qualified union workers from other areas.
Community activists and local leaders say the people
who live in the area are feeling all of the negative
impacts of this construction project in their
neighborhood. So they say they will continue to
pressure DEP to make sure as many local residents as
possible get jobs.
"I just enjoy helping people help themselves",
Jeannette Ramsey, member of First Step Woman's
Support Group.
Representative at the Kingsbridge Heights fair are
accepting applications for thousands of jobs
available throughout the Bronx and city. Of those
jobs, 600 are being offered at the water filtration
plant project in Van Cortlandt Park. In addition, a
city-run employment agency has hundreds of retail
jobs available.
"It reminded me of when I was jobless. community
people helped me out and said I would be ok",
says Elizabeth Thompson of First Step Woman's
Support group.
"This is our way of helping people in our
community deal with poverty and their low
economic status, by seeing that THEY GET A GOOD
PAYING JOB". " It was nice to contribute in a
meaningful and positive way," says Phyillis
Reid, President of "It takes a
Village...Worldwide".
North Bronx Thinktank is the umbrella organization
for The Committee of 100 Democrats, Bronxites for
Parks & The Children's Collective. The website is:
http://www.bronxmall.com/100dems.
See the news reports below:
The
Committee of 100 Democrats
