New Washington Heights Career Center Aims to Help Immigrants Utilize City Services

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — City officials celebrated the opening of a new career center in Washington Heights created to provide the neighborhood's large immigrant community easy access to city services and career guidance.

The new Workforce1 Career Center at 516 W. 181st St. is the result of a public-private partnership between two city departments — the Department of Small Business Services and the Human Resources Administration — and philanthropic organization The Robin Hood Foundation.

The center will provide services such as connecting people with companies looking to hire and helping people become more competitive candidates for open positions through skills and networking workshops and interview preparation.

HRA Commissioner Steven Banks said that in a working-class immigrant community like Washington Heights these resources will be especially useful.

"Our immigrant clients are such an important part of the fabric of New York city for so many years, but for so many years have had challenges accessing services," Banks said.

Also at the opening ceremony was City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, who represents Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill. Rodriguez drew on his own experience as an immigrant to demonstrate how greater access to city services will benefit the large immigrant community of the neighborhood.

"It doesn't matter if you are third generation, second generation or a recent immigrant, we are hard-working people" Rodriguez said. "Immigrants only need some opportunity, and I'm a testimony of that."

Photo: Patch