NYC-Feature Story

Obama Brings Jobs to NYC Teens

Interview by Daïchka Danastor and Jordan Temple

As the economy has gone downhill, it’s affected teens as well as adults. Teens may be under pressure to save electricity in their homes, or they may be getting less allowance from their parents. And in New York City, where there’s competition for every job, it’s especially hard for teens to earn money.

Well, there’s still hope for hardworking New York teens. Because of President Obama’s plan to stimulate the economy, there could be 10,000 to 20,000 more jobs available for teens this summer through the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). The stimulus plan has already delivered extra money to the Department of Youth and Community Development, which runs SYEP.

With another New Youth Connections writer, I recently interviewed members of The Campaign for Summer Jobs, a project made up of adults and teens working to publicize teens’ need for more SYEP jobs.

—Daïchka Danastor

NYC: What is the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)?

Ilse Fajardo (Program Director for SYEP, Alianza Dominicana): SYEP is a 7-week program, running from July 1 to the second week of August. This year it’s going to serve youth aged 14 to 24. We partner with different organizations and corporations to provide young people with work experience in day camps, offices, hospitals, stores, recreation—we try to create a variety of opportunities for young people.

The participant usually works 25 hours a week and will receive $7.25 per hour this summer.

Matthew Phifer (Program Coordinator for SYEP, Henry Street Settlement): There’s also an educational component. Teens have to attend classes on core topics including workplace readiness, health, financial literacy, career exploration and higher education exploration.

NYC: Who can be in the program?

Gigi Li (Co-Coordinator of The Campaign for Summer Jobs): The age requirement is the main thing. The selection process is a lottery. Demand has always been greater than the number of jobs available. Last year there were 103,000 applicants and only 42,000 slots.

NYC: What is the Campaign for Summer Jobs?

Ysmeli Rosa (student at Manhattan Center for Science and Math, 18): The campaign is youth and other not-so-young people who come together to make sure teens have jobs for the summer. Every year we go to Albany and speak to legislators and let them know what we feel, usually at a rally. Then we go to their offices and speak to them on a more personal basis.

NYC: Will President Obama’s economic stimulus package—known officially as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)—affect the program?

Li: We know that some of the money in that package is coming down to the Department of Youth and Community Development, which is the city agency that oversees SYEP. We don’t know what percentage of that money they’re going to dedicate to SYEP. The commissioner has said she anticipates at least 50,000 jobs being available this summer. So that’s an increase of at least 10,000 over last year.

NYC: How has the recession affected the campaign?

Joseph Mercado (student at Grant Street Campus HS, 17): Teens need to pay our own bills—we can’t always rely on our parents for everything. Many of their jobs are getting cut right now because of how bad our economy is. So we need this.

Rosa: When we speak to the legislators, one of the things we say is, “Yes, we understand there are economic problems, but at one point or another, things are going to get better. We want to make sure that when this recession is over we have good, hardworking young people who can take over the jobs.”

NYC: Have you (the teens) applied for SYEP jobs, and if so, what was that like?

Rosa: I started working at SYEP when I was 14. I was always in the lottery. It’s very nerve-wracking. Luckily, I’ve always been chosen, but I’ve had friends who weren’t as lucky.

Mercado: That lottery’s a real pain. I got in at the last round.

NYC: When do you find out if you have a place in the program?

Li: It depends. In the past, the Department of Youth and Community Development has started running the lottery in mid-May and participants have been selected up until late June. This year, given the addition of stimulus funds, we hope that Mayor Bloomberg will include SYEP in his executive budget. That way, we’ll know earlier how many slots will be available.

To apply to the Summer Youth Employment Program, go to www.nyc.gov/dycd (the website of the Department of Youth and Community Development, or DYCD) and click on “Jobs and Internships.” DYCD is expected to make the application available in mid-April; check the website for deadlines. For more information, contact Gigi Li at the Campaign for Summer Jobs: gigi@nfsc-nyc.org, or 212-619-1656.

The SYEP Application will be released shortly. In the meantime, you should begin gathering the documents that you will need if you are selected to participate in SYEP. These include:

• Proof of age (birth certificate, US Passport or Alien Registration Card, or NYS ID or driver’s license)

• Proof of citizenship status (US birth certificate, US Passport or Alien Registration Card, or Certificate of Naturalization)

• Social Security card

• Proof of address (utility bill, lease or official mail from a federal, state or city agency)

• Proof of family income or public assistance (as of January 2009)

• Work papers (for youth under the age of 18)

• Selective Service registration (for males 18 and over)

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