Resilience Building in Action

Supporting Covid-19 Recovery in NYC

Several people sitting in public benches wearing face masks in Bryant Park, NY
 
 

supporting Covid-19 Recovery in NYC: City Cleanup Corp

After over a year of COVID-19 induced lockdowns and a dramatic economic downturn, New York City was seeking immediate actions to infuse the City with positivity and create citywide impact. Communities impacted by COVID-19 experienced hardships from business closures and loss of employment opportunities, while also struggling to secure enough green spaces to support the increased demand for outdoor social and retail activity. In February 2021, during the State of the City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the creation of the 10,000 person strong City Cleanup Corps (CCC) -- charged with the dual purpose of not only cleaning up and greening up the City, but also providing valuable jobs and work experience for people economically impacted by COVID-19. 

Through a partnership with Hagerty Consulting and NYC Emergency Management, RCC was asked to leverage its deep experience in government operations, budgets and contracting to fulfill the ambitious goals of hiring 10,000 people within 6 months. As of December 2021, the $250m initiative has seen over 13,000 people hired, earning between $15 and $21 per hour. 85 percent of CCC’s members were hired from the 31 communities identified as hardest hit by COVID-19. 

In addition, RCC helped facilitate a robust web of partners across City agencies and sectors to deliver the initiative. It is being implemented across 44 different programs, each with a unique approach to cleaning and greening activities, hosted across 15 agencies and supported by 25 delivery partners. These programs are coordinated through weekly operation and strategy meetings to share lessons across the various programs and help ensure effective deployment of the Corps. 

A core objective of CCC was to provide additional capacity to City agency services that became prioritized because of COVID-19. For example, CCC members were deployed directly to the most impacted commercial districts throughout the City to support a return to business and everyday activities. CCC members were also deployed across 617 community parks and helped maintain over 245 open streets and over 11,000 rain gardens. 

As Mayor Adams takes the helm of a NYC still mired by COVID-19, the CCC initiative has been extended until the end of fiscal year ‘22 and CCC’s team is working closely with delivery partners to pull out critical lessons learned that should be carried forward.