Sandy-Affected Brooklynites Seek Help With Employment From Councilman Chaim Deutsch

Southern Brooklynite Ariel Lichtik said he’s been living without a permanent residence ever since Hurricane Sandy destroyed his parent’s Mill Basin home. Forced to bounce from one friend to another since the storm, Lichtik said the uncertainty has made it difficult for him to hold a job, and he’s been living off piecemeal commission work when he can find it.

“It would mean a lot to be able to afford a permanent residence that I can call my own,” he said.

Lichtik was among several people who packed the lobby of City Councilman Chaim Deutsch’s district office, located on Avenue U and East 24th Street, on Monday hoping to get a position with the city’s Sandy recovery program.

The Sandy Recovery Workforce1 Program, created through a collaboration between NYC Build it Back and the Department of Small Business Services, seeks to make job training and employment opportunities available to residents in Sandy-affected areas.

The program is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s commitment to ensuring local residents have access to jobs created by Sandy recovery efforts in their neighborhoods.

“Build it Back wants 20 percent of jobs to go to local residents, so I asked them to come into my office to do an outreach here,” said Deutsch. “People in Sandy-affected areas went through so much already. And if people are unemployed, they deserve the right to have jobs.”

Those who showed up at Deutsch’s office for the event had an opportunity to meet with a Workforce1 program manager. In addition, workers from the Council of Jewish Organizations of Flatbush were on hand to assist people in crafting their resumes or finding other employment opportunities for them.

Deutsch said the event was part of an ongoing effort by his office to connect people in his district with not-for-profit organizations that can help them find jobs.

“Every person needs to have an opportunity to have employment. No one should be unemployed and struggling,” he said.

Janet Wielechowski, who said she lived for weeks without electricity in her Sheepshead Bay home, has been crisscrossing the borough for years to find a job. However, when she told potential employers that she suffered from PTSD, due to childhood trauma, she never got a call back.

“It’s very depressing,” she said of her struggle to find a job. “I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the phone to ring, and I never get called.”

Wielechowski and her fiancé, who is also unemployed, came to Deutsch’s office after finding out about the event on Facebook.

“If I got a job because of this, I would be on cloud nine,” she said. “I’ve been to so many places trying to find work.”

People seeking help with employment or access to government services should contact Councilman Deutsch’s district office at 718-368-9176.