A)
Brownfields 2009 Job Training Grant
Fact Sheet
STRIVE/East Harlem Employment Services, Inc.,
NY
RECOUERY.GOV
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a
hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On
February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into
law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The
Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our
economy, and create or save millions of jobs. This law
provided stimulus funds to the Brownfields Program to
award grants to train unemployed or underemployed
individuals to evaluate and clean up former industrial and
commercial sites. Under this law, EPA will provide
financial assistance to eligible applicants through four
competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving
loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.
Community Description
STRIVE/East Harlem Employment Services, Inc., was
selected to receive a job training grant. STRIVE is located
in East Harlem (population 117,000), a predominantly
African-American and Hispanic community. East Harlem
lags behind the rest of the City of New York in all
economic factors, including employment and income. It
has a high concentration of hazardous waste handling
companies and sources of air pollution. Residents are
disproportionately impacted by poverty and
environmental hazards. The state cites construction
managers, extraction workers, and hazardous materials
removal workers to be among the jobs having the most
favorable employment prospects, indicating demand for
graduates with these skills. The community also is located
in the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, which
offers employers wage and credit incentives that will
facilitate employment of trained graduates.
Job Training Grant
$500,000
EPA has selected STRIVE/East Harlem
Employment Services, Inc., for a job training
grant. STRIVE plans to train 150 students and
place at least 113 graduates in environmental
careers. It will track graduates for two years.
Grant funds will be used to provide two 12-week,
310-hour cycles per year for three years. Courses
will include HAZWOPER, OSHA 10-hour
construction health and safety, OSHA 16-hour
confined space entry, green construction, and
photovoltaic installation. STRIVE will recruit
students with the help of a network of
community-based organizations. Training partners
include Ando International, Inc., and
Microecologies, Inc. To facilitate job placement
for graduates, STRIVE will work with local
employers in the brownfields remediation, green
construction, and alterative energy fields, as well
as long-time partners that include Mount Sinai
Medical Center and South Bronx Overall
Economic Development Corporation.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit
the EPA Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 2 Brownfields Team
(212) 637-4358
EPA Region 2 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region2/bro wnfields)
Grant Recipient: STRIVE/East Harlem
Employment Services Inc., NY
(646)335-0832
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-09-483
August 2009
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from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative
agreement for the grant has not yet been
negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this
fact sheet are subject to change.
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-09-483
August 2009
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