Big Development Projects Mean Opportunities for Lower East Side Residents
By Kasia Gladki
When major development projects come to neighborhoods, they bring change. Property values may fluxuate, construction can disrupt daily life and local residents may feel that their concerns are ignored. The Lower East Side Employment Network (LESEN) – an organization co-founded by Henry Street Settlement and University University Settlement in collaboration with Community Board 3 – is working to make sure that at least one concern – hiring for the construction – isn’t a concern at all to the Lower East Side community.
As reported by the New York Observer, LESEN is working closely with developers – including the huge Essex Crossing project – to ensure that priority is given to local residents when new jobs and opportunities become available.
LESEN is already making a difference. The Network facilitates about 100 job placements a year (in addition to the 1,200 made by LESEN partners), a number that is bound to grow as these new projects break ground. The benefits do not just go one-way; developers who work with the Network get access to a pool of qualified available talent. “LESEN is a vehicle designed specifically to identify, engage, and cultivate new projects…. It is about being a solution,” said Henry Street Executive Director David Garza.
When communities come together great things can happen. LESEN shows the ways that the community, social service organizations and developers can work together to create healthy vital neighborhoods that work for all residents.
