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CNY Works Hosts I-81 Viaduct Project Local Hire Event CNY Works Hosts I-81 Viaduct Project Local Hire Event

By Valentina Macellaro LaFranca

GIRLADO RIED- A LOCAL HIRING EVENT IS LEADING THE WAY TO HELP KICKSTART THE I-81 VIADUCT PROJECT.
NCC NEWS REPORTER VALENTINA LAFRANCA IS NOW LIVE OUTSIDE THE CNY WORKS CAREER CENTER WITH MORE.

VALENTINA LAFRANCA- THAT’S RIGHT, GUYS.
THE I-81 VIADUCT PROJECT WILL RECONNECT COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN DIVIDED FOR GENERATIONS.BUT IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT BY THE YEAR OF 2028, WORKERS
ARE NEEDED. AND WHERE BETTER TO FIND THEM THAN IN OUR OWN BACKYARD.

180 PEOPLE REGISTERED FOR A LOCAL HIRE EVENT AND THEY DID INDEED SHOW.
DASHAWN BURNS FROM THE SOUTHSIDE TELLS US WHY HE DID

DASHAWN BURNS – “Be part of a community, something that’s going to be here forever, and I want to take pride in something that I did.”

LAFRANCA – SPOKESPERSON FOR THE I-81 VIADUCT PROJECT TANISHA MURPHY SAYS FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY DROVE THE STATE DEPARMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO IMPLEMENT A LOCAL HIRE INITIATIVE.

TENESHA MURPHY – “It was important for the community to see people that look like them working in their neighborhoods on this project.”

LAFRANCA – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE URBAN JOBS TASK FORCE OF SYRACUSE TYLAH WORRELL IS AN ADVOCATE OF THIS INITIATIVE.

TYLAH WORRELL – “It’s very important that with these multi-million-dollar projects that are coming in here, that locals have these opportunities first above all else.”

LAFRANCA – AND THIS PROJECT IS ACTUALLY A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT.
COMMUNITY EFFORTS ALSO LED TO A REQUIREMENT THAT CONTRACTORS HIRE AT LEAST 15% OF ITS STAFF LOCALLY.

SYRACUSE RESIDENT DONALD VENTRO WAS EXTREMELY HAPPY ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY.

DONALD VENTRO – “You know there are a lot of communities that are struggling through New York State, and we have the perfect opportunity for us to grow together as a community and that’s part of our state.”

LAFRANCA THIS ISN’T THE FIRST I-81 LOCAL HIRE EVENT AND TENISHA SAYS IT CERTAINLY WON’T BE THE LAST.
ALTHOUGH YOU DON’T NEED TO WAIT FOR ONE OF THESE EVENTS IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED. IM GONNA PASS IT BACK TO THE STUDIO FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THAT.
REPORTING LIVE FROM THE CNY WORKS CAREER CENTER, I’M VALENTINA LAFRANCA FOR NCC NEWS.

RIED – THANKS VALENTINA, YOU CAN REACH OUT TO NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND THEY WILL HELP YOU GET CONNECTED WITH THEIR WORK SMART PARTNERS, TRAINING SERVICES AND CONTRACTORS. THEY ALSO HAVE OUTREACH CENTERS AND ALL FORMS OF CONTACT THAT YOU CAN FIND ON NCC NEWS ONLINE.

SYRACUSE, N.Y, (NCCNews) – A local hiring event on Wednesday brought almost 200 people to learn about and apply to work on the I-81 Viaduct Project.

One of the goals of the I-81 Viaduct Project is to reconnect communities that have been divided for generations. The project is expected to be finished by 2028 and with so much work to be done, there is a huge demand for more workers.

Southside resident Dashawn Burns said he wants to be a part of the project to be a part of something big.

“To be a part of a community, something that’s going to be here forever, I want to take pride in something that I did,” Burns said.

The public information officer for the I-81 Viaduct Project Tanisha Murphy, said feedback from the community drove the New York State Department of Transportation to implement a local hire initiative.

“It was important for the community to see people that looked like them working in their neighborhoods on this project,” she said.

Executive Director for the Urban Jobs Task Force of Syracuse Tylah Worrell is an advocate of this initiative.

“It’s very important that with these multi-million-dollar projects that are coming in here, that locals have these opportunities first above all else,” Worrell said.

The project costs $2.25 billion. Community efforts also led to a requirement that contractors hire at least 15% of their staff locally.

Syracuse resident Donald Ventro was extremely excited about the opportunity.

“There are a lot of communities that are struggling through New York state, and we have the perfect opportunity for us to grow together as a community and that’s part of our state.”

This is not the first I-81 local hire event and Murphy said there will be many more ahead.

Prospective employees can also reach out to the New York State Department of Transportation, to get connected with their training services and contractors. There are outreach centers and contacts available on www.dot.ny.gov.

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