Chair Won on workforce promises and $600M green funding question

Thank you so much, Chair Maloney.

I want to acknowledge that we've been joined by Councilmember Amanda Farías, as well as Councilmember Shanel-Thomas-Henry.

My name is Julie Won, and I have the privilege of chairing.

Committee on Workforce Development.

Chair Maloney has laid out the economic development side of this plan.

I want to talk about the parts that matter the most to the work themselves, which is whether the city is actually building a path for New Yorkers into these jobs.

A plan that promises 400,000 green jobs by 2040 means very little of the people who need these jobs cannot get trained for them.

The plan made three major workforce promises.

First, a green collar training center in every single borough.

Second, for more than 12,000 New Yorkers trained in screen jobs through apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs by 2040,

And third, what the plan calls a $600 million investment in green career pathways for young people.

I want to know how many of these promises have been kept and the numbers behind them broken down by fiscal year.

I also want to be precise about the $600 million since it doesn't come from the Green Economy Action Plan.

It's our understanding that it comes from the city's 2023 Pathways to an Inclusive Economy Plan, and it is spread across public schools, CUNY, DYCD, to serve about 250,000 young people across the entire economy, not just green jobs.

So how much of that $600 million actually funds the green training?

And is there any green-specific money in this plan at all?

Or are we just relabeling spending that was already happening for PR purposes?