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Q&A
Council member Salaam inquires about local hiring and MWBE participation in the One45 for Harlem project
1:00:41
·
3 min
Council Member Yusef Salaam questions developer Bruce Teitelbaum about local hiring practices and MWBE (Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise) participation in the One Forty Five for Harlem project. Teitelbaum outlines the project's commitments to MWBE involvement and local hiring.
- The project includes a commitment to a robust MWBE program in the community benefits agreement
- Plans include reserving a portion of the site for local minority and women-owned businesses
- Teitelbaum commits to engaging a minority-owned firm as part of the development team
- Local hiring targets are discussed, with commitments for both construction and retail spaces
Yusef Salaam
1:00:41
I want to move to local hiring.
1:00:42
Mhmm.
1:00:44
If approved, how are NWBE organizations and diversity practices being implemented during the construction phase of this development?
1:00:55
Will you consider working with an NWBE development team to construct your proposal?
Bruce Teitelbaum
1:01:03
So I think there are two parts to the question.
1:01:06
So firstly, embedded into the community benefits agreement is our commitment to a robust MWBE program that really, it covers several different aspects.
1:01:20
A, we're committed to marketing and if we can reserving a portion of the site for local minority and women owned businesses.
1:01:30
That's something that's never been done before and that's something that's frankly unique.
1:01:33
The second aspect of the plan is to work with local local workers who actually live in Harlem.
1:01:41
There's someone actually here today from a from a major union in the city.
1:01:44
There are thousands and thousands of union members who live in the district, trades people that we were committed to working with.
1:01:51
The third part of your question I think is something that's that's different and unique and which is actually finding a a minority owned firm that we could work with as part of the development team.
1:02:02
That's something that we don't currently have and I'll make a commitment today publicly, which I haven't done so before publicly, that that is something that not only are we going to entertain and consider, but as I've spoken to folks, you know, and your staff and others, we are prepared and willing to engage with with a firm that's that's able to work with us and then you could point to actually a minority owned firm that's actually building and developing the site in addition to the other aspects of our MWEB program.
Yusef Salaam
1:02:33
And what what percent of local hiring are you willing to commit to for the construction of this development?
Bruce Teitelbaum
1:02:40
Yeah.
1:02:41
So I am looking at the community benefits agreement.
1:02:47
Now I have it in front of me.
1:02:50
We have targets.
1:02:51
As you know, it's very difficult to put a fixed number of the amount of people that are going to work on the project and there were all sorts of reasons for that.
1:03:01
But looking through the CBA, what you have in front of me, we're talking about 50% of local retailers must be minority locally owned business.
1:03:09
That's a big number.
1:03:10
20% of the commercial retail space at one forty five shall be shall be set aside for local residents.
1:03:17
That's a big number.
1:03:18
And as far as hiring is concerned, I I believe we're looking at a number at at 10% or even perhaps higher than that.
1:03:24
So we have a a real commitment not only to find people who live in Harlem, who actually live in Harlem, who are trades people, who can actually work developing the site, but also budding entrepreneurs who either have businesses in Harlem or want to open a business and we reserve space for them as well.