Developer Provides Space For Youth Training Program In Harlem

HARLEM, NY — When YouthBuild Harlem's building was sold, the nonprofit that teaches young adults the construction and maintenance trades figured it would have to find a new home. Instead, the organization found a new partner.

Real estate developers Genesis Companies have provided YouthBuild a work space in 20 W. 129th St. — an apartment building located between Fifth and Lenox avenues — since buying the building in 2015 as part of a real estate portfolio once owned by the community-focused firm Abyssinian Development Corporation, Genesis founder Karim Hutson said.

YouthBuild, which was transferred from Abyssinian to Bronx-based developers SoBRO, had previously operated a work space in the building, and feared the worst.

"They had approached us thinking at that point in time that we were going to kind of lock them out, and start with a new thing and kind of take over the space," Hutson said. "And we said 'no, no, no, no we actually want you to stay.' We were really excited about the program and really excited that people were learning how to become builders in our buildings."

The YouthBuild facility takes up a"significant" portion of the building's basement with a workshop designed to teach people between 17- and 24-years-old skills such as property management, carpentry, electrical work, plumbing and custodial skills. The nonprofit also helps its students achieve high school equivalency and pick up industry-recognized job credentials, apprenticeships and employment.

In the future, Genesis is looking to expand its affiliation with the nonprofit by hiring its participants to work full-time in its buildings, Hutson said.

"That's where we think we can do the most good to really expand and help the program," Hutson said. "Even though it's great to have the skills and get the training, if nobody's going to offer the job you're only solving half the problem."

Hutson said Genesis will be looking to source any building management openings across the firm's portfolio to YouthBuild alumni.

YouthBuild is a free program and people interested in applying can reach out to the development firm SoBRO, which took the program over from Abyssinian Development Corporation. Hutson said Genesis is mostly relying on Abyssinian and SoBRO to recruit applicants, but is interested in spreading the word about the program to its own tenants.

SoBRO also runs a YouthBuild program in the Bronx. The development firm told Patch that its partnership with Genesis to keep the facility at 20 W. 129th St. has been greatly beneficial to the goals of the YouthBuild program.

"YouthBuild is more than just a high school equivalency program—we provide training, support and skills that raise up the young adults we work with, helping them find employment or go to college," Kerwin Rivera, director of workforce development at SoBRO, told Patch. "It’s organizations like Genesis that help make this work possible, not only by providing space for us to train our students, but also by helping them find meaningful employment within their communities."

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