Uplifting NYC: Restoring SYEP
On Thursday, January 14th, Mayor Bill De Blasio released New York’s $92.2 billion preliminary budget for the coming fiscal year. The budget saw a massive decrease from previous years; the large cut in spending is primarily due to a reduction in property tax revenue as a symptom of the coronavirus pandemic. Cutting the city’s budget as a whole, of course, reduces the funding and implementation of many essential programs. However, the preliminary budget prioritizes pandemic response and recovery in several ways, including the Summer Youth Employment Program’s restoration.
What is SYEP?
The New York Sumer Youth Employment Program provides young people between the ages of 14-24 employment, career-building opportunities, and a stipend of $700-$1,000 for up to seven weeks of work. The program originally employed 75,000 youths and received around 125,000 applications annually at the cost of $124 million in prior years. The slots in SYEP are distributed randomly through a lottery system. However, in the summer of 2020, the city canceled the program entirely because of the coronavirus pandemic. The new preliminary budget seeks to reinstate SYEP with the employment of 70,000 youths at the cost of $132 million.
Defending SYEP
The cancellation of SYEP sparked outrage and much criticism from many New York City organizers and communities. Many people argued that the program constituted a vital source of employment, income, and education for its applicants. In particular, the Community Service Society argued that the program “cater[s] to teens of color from low-income families in high-poverty neighborhoods who experience the greatest difficulties in finding employment and the lack of a ‘social network’ to land jobs.” Therefore, SYEP’s cancellation would affect those demographics most significantly.
Furthermore, the CSS rejected the De Blasio administration’s explanation that SYEP could not have operated safely because of the pandemic. Before the program’s cancellation, the organizations acting as the program’s job providers were already working with the Department of Youth and Community Development to create an online learning plan and safe work environments. CSS argued that getting more organizations more suited to remote jobs could be a part of the solution. For example, large tech companies could provide technical training, employment, and internships for those involved in SYEP.
SYEP’s Impact
The statistics surrounding SYEP highlight why the Community Service Society’s argument is so relevant. According to the Abdul Jameel Poverty Action Lab, SYEP’s effects included a “meaningful reduction in participant incarceration and mortality.” SYEP’s participants also earned on average $876 more during the years that they were part of the program. These statistics combined with an easing of the difficulty for young people to enter the job market during a recession can have long-term beneficial effects on communities.
Although Mayor De Blasio’s preliminary budget may have called for SYEP’s reinstatement, that doesn’t ensure its inclusion in New York’s final budget. The city’s organizers, those most intimately aware of its problems and their solutions, have called for the restoration of the youth employment program. Therefore, New Yorkers must continue to stand with their underprivileged communities and organizers by voicing their support for SYEP.
