1. From the Edge of Disaster
How Activists and Insiders Can
Use the Lessons of Hurricane Sandy
to Make the City Safer
Talking Transitions NYC
November 13, 2013

2. Jeremy Saunders
Lead Organizer
VOCAL - NY

8. Jill Eisenhard
Executive Director
Red Hook Initiative

15. Joseph McKellar
Executive Director
Faith in New York

16. What did Sandy teach us about the growing racial and
economic inequality in NYC?

19. “Reviving Our City” Mayoral Candidates Summit: June
13, 2013: 1,400 people

20. “11 Months After Sandy” Mayoral Candidate Tour of
Rockaways with Bill de Blasio: September 29, 2013

21. 18-mile “Sandy Sojourn” from Far Rockaway to
City Hall for “Equity Standards” in Sandy
rebuilding funds

22. Gonzalo Mercado
Executive Director
El Centro del Immigrante

29. Michael Premo
Occupy Sandy
Sandy Storyline

36. Ligia Guallpa
Executive Director
Workers Justice Project

37. South Brooklyn: Immigrant Workers, Day
Laborers, First Responders
In South Brooklyn, Day Laborers were among the first to
respond to the Hurricane Sandy clean up /
reconstruction, earning the poorest wages and under
dangerous working conditions

38. Rebuilding Bay Parkway Community Job
Center After Hurricane Sandy
Bay Parkway Community Job Center is a work center in South Brooklyn that ensure that Sandy recovery
and rebuilding dollars create job security with fair wages, dignified working conditions and skill-building
training opportunities for low-wage immigrant workers.
“

39. Worker Center Role: After Hurricane Sandy
Improving Working Conditions
Bay Parkway Community Job Center
Worker’s Rate
SKILL
HOU
RLY
General Labor
$120/130
$15/2
0
Sheet Rock
Taper
$ 160
$2025
Painter
$160
$20
Carpenter
$180
$22.5
-25
Tile
The Center facilitates fair, living wage jobs between employers and workers, offers
trainings and workshops, and connects workers with community resources. In less than
six months, the Center facilitated a total of 678 jobs, resulting in over $270,000 in salaries
with fair wages and dignified conditions.
RATE
(8 Hours per
Day)
$180
$22.5
-25
Cement/Brick
$200
$2530

40. Worker Center Role: After Hurricane Sandy
Building Bridges of Solidarity
Immediately after the storm, workers
formed volunteer brigades to assist New
Yorkers with rescue and clean up efforts
in neighborhoods around the city. “We
are proud that we were there for New
York when it needed us most.” said
Filiberto Altamirano, Bay Parwaky Day
Laborer

41. Worker Center Role After Sandy
Worker’s Rights Clinic / Training

42. Workers Center Role After
Hurricane Sandy
•
Organizing For
Change: workers
become safety
liaisons to help
enforce safety
regulations on the job
site.
•
Workforce
Development: Over
500 day laborers have
been trained in OSHA
10, Scaffold 4 Hour
user, Mold
remediation and Basic
Protective Equipment

43. THANK YOU!