Williamsburg Works: An Environmental Justice Success Story in Brooklyn

Williamsburg Works’ Environmental Technician Training, in Brooklyn, New York, provides unemployed and under-employed people with new career opportunities. Williamsburg Works is a program of the St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation of Brooklyn, which has received two Brownfields Job Training grants from EPA.

St. Nick’s is a multi-service community organization providing social services and employment training to the predominantly Hispanic and African-American community located in north Brooklyn. The median household income of the area is considerably lower than New York City’s, reflecting a combination of low educational attainment and a need for training in marketable jobs.

Williamsburg Works partnered with local churches, community groups and public housing tenant associations to recruit trainees. Key to their successful graduation and placement rates with environmental job training is the organization’s non-EPA funded job readiness, life-skills training, social service support and placement assistance.

EPA provided technical assistance and guest speakers. The City of New York also provided guest speakers and hosted field trips. Private sector entities also acted as technical advisors as well as providing guest speakers and technology demonstrations. Benefits realized by the program include:

• 191 unemployed and underemployed people completed Williamsburg Works’ extensive training, which was more than planned.
• 112 people have been placed in the environmental field with an average wage above $13.00 per hour; placement assistance is ongoing. A number of the trainees have become members of skilled trade unions.

By providing local residents an opportunity to receive environmental training, graduates entering the workforce have assisted in the cleanup of brownfield sites located throughout the New York City metropolitan area and have been recruited for environmental response jobs across the country. Notably, in 2001, St. Nick’s/Williamsburg Works helped to provide trained and skilled workers to assist in the World Trade Center cleanup activities at Ground Zero.

Lessons Learned
It is critical for EPA to work closely with the grantee to ensure that the overall program, from recruitment, screening, training and placement activities, supports the trainees and meets the demand for trained environmental technicians. The strategic approaches developed by this project are available to other communities and have already been shared with communities from around the country at forums such as the annual Hazardous Material Training and Research Institute (HMTRI) national workshop. BFN

Case study provided by the U.S. EPA.