NYC Launches City Cleanup Corps, Will Hire 10K Workers

NEW YORK CITY — A New Deal-inspired program will hire 10,000 new workers to engage in a massive cleanup effort across New York City.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced the City Cleanup Corps is officially hiring, starting with 500 jobs posted online.

He said the program will hire 1,000 workers in April and 10,000 by July for spring and summer cleanings.

"Folks will be out there eradicating graffiti, beautifying parks, helping our wonderful Open Streets and programs to be as beautiful as it can be," he said. "Making sure there's less litter on the streets — you name it. We have so many things that we need to do and now having a dedicated group of New Yorkers who will go out there and make the city shine."

Garbage, graffiti and grungy public spaces have plagued New York City throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

De Blasio, while he sometimes dismissed concerns over the city's cleanliness, featured his proposed City Cleanup Corps prominently in his final State of the City.

His announcement Tuesday framed the program as both a much-needed city revitalization effort and a hearkening back to massive governmental recovery plans unleashed in the 1930s New Deal.

Indeed, the program even takes its name from the Civilian Conservation Corps — a federal program that hired unemployed people and put them to work in parks and public lands during the Great Depression.

De Blasio said the City Cleanup Corps will use federal stimulus funds — he dodged a question on how much exactly — to pay workers $15 an hour.

The corps workers will be hired across 10 different city agencies, including parks, department of transportation and NYCHA, officials said. Their work will include pressure washing sidewalks, designing mural, tending to community gardens and maintaining Open Streets, officials said.

Eric Adams, who is Brooklyn's borough president and is running for mayor, hailed a citywide graffiti removal effort.

"I'm particularly thrilled that the Corps will work to clean graffiti in the highest-need neighborhoods, as someone who has committed funding to graffiti removal during my tenure, and I additionally appreciate that the Corps will provide support to our Open Streets, community gardens, and broader beautification efforts," he said in a statement.

De Blasio said the program will focus on the 33 neighborhoods hardest-hit by the pandemic, business improvement districts and commercial corridors.

New Yorkers interested in jobs can find out more at nyc.gov/ccc. Job openings will be posted on a rolling basis, de Blasio said.