Cash boost for Bronx trades training program.

PROJECT H.I.R.E. at Bronx Community College (BCC) was presented with a symbolic check for $175,000 from Bronx Gateway Fasttrack Unit Associates to provide pre-apprenticeship training to Bronx residents--men and women--in the building trades.

Angel Cruz, executive program director and general counsel and Omarro Benjamin, business development officer, of the Bronx Terminal Market Community Benefits Program, delivered the check to Bronx Community College president Dr. Carolyn Grubbs Williams and PROJECT H.I.R.E. director Glenda Self.

New York City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera, Sherman Brown, standing in for Councilwoman Maria Baez, and Dr. Jim Fairbanks, standing in for Councilwoman Helen Foster, also attended the event on the BCC campus.

The money is the first installment of a Community Benefits Agreement growing out of negotiations with the community, the Bronx Borough President's Office and Related Industries, developers of Gateway Center at the Bronx Terminal Market.

Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera said, "Project H.I.R.E. is a great organization for helping to train people for the building industry."

The money goes toward a 20-week, 600 hour training program. Many of the students in the training program witnessed the presentation. The current class of over 35 students will be graduating by the end of June with additional training cycles expected.

"We are proud of PROJECT H.I.R.E. and the potential it has to meet the building trades needs of new construction projects here in the Bronx and simultaneously providing a pathway to excellent careers for Bronx residents," stated BCC President Williams.

PROJECT H.I.R.E offers hands-on classroom training in painting, tiling, plumbing, electrical re pairs, framing and sheetrock installation, and professional job search skills training.

The program is operated out of the Bronx Community College. PROJECT H.I.R.E. is located at Bronx Community College, West 181st Street & University Avenue.

For over 21 years, PROJECT H.I.R.E. has trained men and women to enter the building trades and property maintenance careers. Over 1,000 people have been trained in that time, with a majority obtaining employment in these fields.

The Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market, located on 18 acres of land in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, between 149th and 153rd Street, River Avenue and the Harlem River, will create approximately 1.1 million new square feet of retail space, featuring well-known, brand-name national retailers. The site will also include space for smaller, neighborhood-oriented establishments, street-level restaurants and on-site parking.