Q&A
Discussion on considering poverty levels in ZIP codes for wage and local hiring decisions
0:32:09
·
160 sec
Council Member De La Rosa raises the issue of considering poverty levels in ZIP codes for wage and local hiring decisions in affordable housing projects. Ahmed Tigani responds with HPD's approach to local hiring and community involvement.
- De La Rosa emphasizes the importance of addressing poverty and worker exploitation in certain communities
- Tigani explains HPD's efforts in local hiring, including partnerships with job training centers and SBS
- Discussion of HPD's commitment to MWBEs, with nearly $2 billion in subsidies going to black, brown, and women-led firms since 2017
- Mention of upcoming community hiring work and draft rules for sourcing from neighborhoods where projects are being built
Carmen N. De La Rosa
0:32:09
So one of the things that this bill also does is that it wants it it wants to look at the ZIP codes in the city where poverty is high.
0:32:17
Right?
0:32:17
Like, it's not a secret.
0:32:19
Like, if we overlay all the maps, the COVID deaths, right, the where people are unharvest.
0:32:24
These things are clear that they're happening in certain communities across the city.
0:32:29
And those are also the community where workers are being exploited, where wages are stagnant and low, and remain low.
0:32:35
And it's also the same communities where the same workers that are building up our city can't even afford to apply for the housing lottery.
0:32:43
Right?
0:32:43
Because they just are not making the money to get an apartment in the city of New York and let alone you know, make a living.
0:32:48
So when you all are having conversations in like, I see, like, the Bronx East Harlem.
0:32:54
Right?
0:32:55
I I dare say Washington Heights in Wood, the the district where I represent.
0:32:58
When you all are having those conversations stations in areas of the city where, you know, there's deep poverty.
0:33:05
Is that a factor that you all are looking at to bring to the table sort of the local hiring component, the the and the wage floor that we're trying to perform in this legislation?
Ahmed Tigani
0:33:16
So I'll start.
0:33:17
And Anthony, so I would say that certainly the local hiring component is a huge part of many of our community visioning processes that we do in neighborhood either for individual RFP projects or when HPD is representing them working through the housing conversation and the abroad plan.
0:33:35
We have within the at minimum the requirement for higher NYC, but more often than that, we're working with local job training and recruitment centers We're partnering with SBS in their workforce training center to look at other allies and, you know, collaborators in the neighborhood beyond that, our MWA commitment.
0:33:56
Since 2017, we've been able to put nearly $2,000,000,000 of our subsea into black and brown and women led firms so that we have more of the people who live in our neighborhoods being part of development of our of our projects.
0:34:14
And then, you know, we look beyond that, and we're coming up we're we're coming up to the community hiring work that is currently the draft rules are before the public now and being able to implement that work so that we're sourcing from the neighborhoods where we're building in will be the next milestone and achievement certainly in our procurement work and we'll continue to look for more opportunities on the development side.
Carmen N. De La Rosa
0:34:37
Yeah.
0:34:37
I'll just say, I think we could have a whole hearing on MWD and how that actually plays out in communities, but I'll leave that for another day.
0:34:44
I'm gonna pass it over to to customer amendment who has some questions, and then I'll come back.
0:34:49
Thank you.
Julie Menin
0:34:49
Thank you so much, Sherry.
