RIWI Staff
On Saturday, November 5, 2022, 20 participants completed the 40-hour Site Safety Training (SST) accordance with New York City’s Local Law 196.
Part of the Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative’s workforce development efforts, the course was coordinated by three OSHA Outreach Trainers: Jake Toth, CHST, Director, Andromeda Academy of Construction Trades; Mike Matthys, CHST, COSS, QSSP, Compliance Safety Consulting; and Angelo Lampousis, Executive Director (Interim), Rangel Initiative.
The South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SoBro)’s Coordinator of Career Services Christine L. Blanch led the successful recruitment effort, along with her exceptional team –Vanessa Cornish (Compliance Manager of Young Adult Career Services), Diego Ramirez (Intake and Program Assistant), and Lauren Patterson (Employment Specialist).
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided CCNY with funding for the course under a three-year (2021-2024) Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) grant. Recently renamed the Brownfields Job Training Grants program, the grant is now managed at CCNY by the Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative.
In its first year of training, the Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative – inspired by retired Congressman Charles B. Rangel – received national attention when the Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and New York State Governor Kathy Hochul toured the Initiative’s training space on September 9, 2022. “America must mobilize to accomplish the reconstruction of our infrastructure, and that mobilization is a great opportunity to develop a more representative workforce,” CCNY President Vincent Boudreau said during the campus visit.
The Initiative is supported by $400,000 from CUNY, $1.5 million from New York State and $3.7 million in federal funding secured by Representative Adriano Espaillat.
Free training for eligible individuals leading to infrastructure-related careers is scheduled to resume in January 2023. Participants who successfully complete the program will have the opportunity to participate in career fairs, internships, and apprenticeships, as well as receive assistance securing full-time employment, in collaboration with our partners:
- New York City Economic Development Corporation
- Association For Energy Affordability, Inc.
- NYC Mayor's Office of Environmental Remediation
- Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, Inc. (HCCI)
- South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation
- New York City Administration for Children's Services
- Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast
- New York City Brownfield Partnership
- New Jersey Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association
For more information about the January 2023 training program and the Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative:
Email: rangelinfrastructure@ccny.cuny.edu
Phone: 212-650-6281