Statement from Council Members Andy King and Deborah Rose on the Cancelling of New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program

THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF NEW YORK
COUNCIL MEMBER 12TH C.D.
ANDY L. KING

April 7, 2020

As announced today, New York City will be suspending the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) for SUMMER 2020 due to COVID-19. Since 1963, SYEP has served as financial assistance and a means for youths to gain work experience. Every Summer thousands of participants between the ages of 14 and 24 benefit from SYEP. Suspension of this program is devastating news to our youths, who often rely on a paycheck to help their family. We still need to find a way to keep our young adults engaged and safe, while still offering them some kind of financial assistance throughout the summer months.

As the recently announced stimulus package is slated to provide relief to small businesses, corporations and organizations, we are calling for a “Summer Youth Stimulus Package” to be amended to the budget. We are proposing on a youth package that will give aid to those young adults who applied to SYEP. We propose to Mayor Bill De Blasio and our colleagues in the City Council that they receive a one-time payment equal to one-fourth of what they would have earned from working in the Summer Youth Employment Program. While we want to provide some support, we see the importance in “working” for a check, therefore they should earn it in some capacity, for example, by writing an essay or completing a project.  

Keep in mind, not only will these young people miss out on the financial assistance of SYEP, but they will also lose educational and real workplace experience. As youth developers for the past decades, this is very damaging to the growth of our youth. Many of our youths are already feeling the financial strain as their parents or guardians may be unemployed, and so eliminating the SYEP is adding more distress to families. The financial relief package would be a way to assist youth and their families to be economically viable during the summer months.

Hon. Andy L. King                           Hon. Deborah Rose

Council Member                                                             Council Member  

12th District - Bronx                                               49th District - Staten Island

                                                                                        Youth Committee Chair