Gillibrand promotes her minority jobs bill

The act, targeting young people of color between the ages of 18 and 24, seeks to address some of the startling statistics about this group in New York City and elsewhere. Some 39 percent of blacks and 36 percent of Hispanics nationwide are unemployed, according to Gillibrand’s office, compared with a nationwide average unemployment rate of 9.1 percent as of July.

Like Mayor Bloomberg’s Young Men’s Initiative, which was announced earlier this month and would invest $127 million into similar programs in New York City specifically, the Urban Jobs Act promotes job training and hones in on the group of people most likely to drop out of high school, commit crimes and live in poverty.

“It’s not a Democrat idea, it’s not a Republican idea, it’s just common sense,” Gillibrand said of the measure.

New York’s teen unemployment rate is the highest among the 50 most populous cities in the country, according to Bloomberg’s office. Given the enormity of the problem — which spans such issues as poverty, racism and the economy — Gillibrand acknowledged that $20 million was not a huge sum to invest.

But before asking for more money, Gillibrand said she wanted “to show that the program can work.”

“That’s the best way to get resources,” she added.

When asked during an interview why the Senator thought New York’s teen unemployment numbers were particularly high, she noted that the statistics vary borough to borough, with the Bronx faring worse than Queens, for example.

She also said that because the financial services industry is based in the city, New York may have been hit harder across the board than other urban areas when the economy collapsed.

One of the biggest questions the Urban Jobs Act raises is whether investing in jobs training can make a difference when jobs are scarce to begin with.

But Gillibrand was confident that by training young people in growing trades, like the high-tech industry, the jobs could be there.

The goal is to “train our kids for the jobs that are actually growing,” she said.

On the hostility toward President Obama’s performance on jobs and his various economy-boosting strategies, including spending more on public works, Gillibrand cited a plan the president had proposed over a year ago that offered more of a “public-private partnership.”

With private interests included in a public works spending bill, she said, “you might be able to bring some Republican support.”

Area politicians including state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Corona) and Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-Corona) were also present during Gillibrand’s presentation.

Moya pledged that he and other elected officials would continue to look out for Queens residents and youths facing obstacles “not of their own making, but of the harsh economic times that we’re in.”