EAST ORANGE, NJ — East Orange Mayor Ted Green hosted the first apprenticeship meeting for the Brick Church Station groundbreaking project on Monday, Jan. 30, at East Orange Public Library. More than 100 people, who had completed applications earlier, showed up for a construction job opportunity at the Brick Church Station.
Everyone was provided an opportunity to speak and raise questions about the new project currently underway in East Orange. Various topics, including worker safety, drug tests and prior work experience in construction, were discussed. For those concerned about drug testing, Green emphasized the need to remain clean and focused while on the job.
“If you (are) impaired or otherwise unfocused … don’t show up,” Green told the Record-Transcript at the meeting. “This is an opportunity to build a new career — the pay is substantial. This is an opportunity to set yourselves and your families up for long-term financial and personal success, so take this very seriously.”
Real estate development associate Maureen Devenny from Triangle Equities provided those in attendance with words of encouragement.
“We believe that giving people access to lifelong careers in construction is an important part of economic development,” Devenny told the Record-Transcript at the meeting. “As a real estate company, Triangle Equities focuses on partnerships where they can give extra benefits to communities around them.”
Devenny explained how Triangle Equities takes a different approach to profit and measuring success as a company.
“Where some developers might only focus on maximizing the profit that they get, we like to think about profit in a holistic way,” Devenny said. “We focus on how we can benefit the community around us. Building the construction skills training program was a very important piece of that. We are giving people economic mobility and power to take their career where they want to be.”
Green said East Orange residents would have much to gain through this program.
“A job like this creates opportunities in every aspect, from apprentice training to electrical to plumbing, HVAC and concrete,” Green said. “We don’t want to exclude anyone else, but due to the percentage of unemployment here in East Orange, we have to make sure that we give our local residents an opportunity to get these local jobs.”
East Orange compliance officer David Sharp elaborated on Green’s words in regard to job opportunities for East Orange residents.
“My role in this project is to enforce affirmative action,” Sharp told the Record-Transcript at the meeting. “I make sure that certain sites in the city are compliant with percentages and numbers for people of color and local hires for jobs. There are federal mandates for people of color in most jobs, but for this particular project, there is an agreement that there will be a percentage of East Orange residents given an opportunity.”
Business Manager Paul Roldan and Joe DiMarco, both from Laborers International Union of North America are working with Sharp and Green to ensure that East Orange residents and people of color are involved in the Brick Church Station construction project.
“We handle apprenticeship training for concrete demolition and remediation tasks,” Roldan told the Record Transcript on Monday, Feb. 6. “We are looking forward to working with the mayor and providing not just jobs, but career opportunities to the residents of this city. We have been working with Green for 20 years, and he always backs up his word, which makes it easy for us to be conduits for careers in the city.
LIUNA has been supplying union training and services like this for almost 120 years and is the most diverse construction union in North America, according to Roldan.
“This union was created by immigrants,” Roldan told the Record-Transcript on Monday, Feb. 6. “We not only have a diverse union, but we have been increasing the number of active women in construction. We had 49 active women in construction in our union previously, it is now up to 110 women in construction that we have trained and are a part of our union, so we are dedicated to this work.”
Sharp also discussed the steps for the project and how East Orange residents will be afforded opportunities in each phase of the project.
“The first phase of this project is the parking deck,” Sharp said. “The contractor works with unions and union workers, so right now, we are implementing East Orange residents into those unions to make sure that they get the first opportunity on this project.”
Green also emphasized the growth of East Orange and the potential that the project has to increase the success of East Orange.
“Not in the last 30 years in the city of East Orange has a project of this magnitude been developed,” Green said. “A $400 million project in a city such as East Orange speaks volumes to who we are, what we believe in and the vision that we have for this city. I’m very honored that this city has given me this opportunity and, since I was raised and nurtured here, I believe that I have to pay it forward.”
Green predicted where he believes East Orange can be in five to 10 years.
“If it’s another four years, eight years or 12 years, I am committed to making East Orange a model city for the nation,” Green said. “Somewhere that other cities can look up to and say ‘I want to be like that city.’ We want to be known as a city where people have amenities and a booming arts district, so that we can be aired on the news due to our renaissance.”
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