Brooklyn, NY Council Member Sandy Nurse rallied this morning alongside a chorus of local elected officials and residents calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to increase local hiring for the $400 million ADA-accessibility and public realm project at Broadway Junction. This historic project is the biggest public works project the district has seen in decades and has the potential to supercharge community wealth building efforts in Council District 37 and East New York, specifically. 

Broadway Junction is Brooklyn’s third-busiest transit hub and serves over 100,000 passengers daily, connecting five subway lines, six bus routes, and the Long Island Rail Road. Its long awaited renovation will bring about 7 new elevators, new escalators, and new entrances to improve its accessibility and transit connections for straphangers. Despite this unprecedented public investment, only 13 local residents from the surrounding eight zip codes have been hired on the project – out of nearly 170 total workers, or about 7.6% – as of June 2026. The Broadway Junction project is one of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) first local hiring pilot programs, which aims to source 20% of all hours worked from “local targeted workers”. Under the provisions of this program, “local targeted workers” is defined as all local residents from the surrounding eight zip codes as well as any worker who lives in an “economically disadvantaged area” within New York State. Following this broader definition, 30% of all work is performed by local workers. 

Local stakeholders have repeatedly called on the MTA and ECCO III Enterprises, Inc., the contractor for the project, to boost local procurement and hiring numbers. Since February 2024, the Council Member has convened monthly calls with local stakeholders, with government stakeholders joining every other month, to oversee, troubleshoot recurring problems, and learn more about the project. Among the other recurring issues,  residents and local electeds have reported raised the illegal parking by MTA employees, which allows trash to pile up on sidewalks and the street, as well as increased rat sightings in the adjacent Callahen Kelly Park, and other quality of life issues.  Today, local business owners, neighbors, and elected officials gathered at the entrance of Broadway Junction to publicly call on the MTA to do more to hire local community members before its completion. 

Community Board 5, which covers Broadway Junction, has an unemployment rate of 8.5% and an NYC poverty measure of 28.9%, both higher than the citywide averages. 

“East New York residents have had to watch the district’s biggest public works project in decades benefit everyone else but their neighbors,” said Council Member Sandy Nurse. “Broadway Junction has been left in a state of disrepair for years, and now that hundreds of millions are finally coming to modernize the transit hub, East New York workers aren’t getting their fair share of the pie. It’s time for the MTA to do right by the local community and put money into the pockets of residents and businesses that have been effectively shut out. A project of this scale barely cracking a dozen local hires and an unclear amount of local vendors is utterly unacceptable.”

“The MTA’s inadequate local hiring and disingenuous definition of a ‘local resident’ is an insult to all of our constituents who are directly impacted by this major infrastructure project. We need a concerted effort by the MTA to rectify this immediately and work with the Ocean-Hill and Brownsville community to find better pathways to actual local hiring,” said Senator Jabari Brisport.

“I was optimistic back when the MTA and elected officials gathered years ago to announce significant investments in the Broadway Junction transit hub, complete with promises to improve public spaces, increase accessibility, and create jobs for local residents. But that optimism has been diminished. Only 13 local residents out of about 170 workers – or just under 8% — have been hired from the surrounding eight zip codes, which falls woefully short of the MTA’s stated goal of 20%. We have a collective responsibility to make sure that hiring on MTA projects directly benefits people who live in the communities that host these massive infrastructure projects. Such hiring improves local economies and fortifies community buy-in. In this particular project, it would provide good-paying jobs to people of color. We need jobs for the Junction,” said Assemblywoman Latrice Walker.

“The MTA needs to get more people from the community. That’s what they said they were going to do, but they’re not doing that. We need to make sure that they follow through,’ said Robert Camacho, Brooklyn Community Board 4 Chair, “Thank you to Council Member Nurse and our local elected officials for amplifying these concerns. These jobs are very important to us.”

“Projects of this scale should create lasting benefits for the communities that hold them. The community has every right to expect transparency, accountability, and a genuine commitment to the local hiring and economic opportunities that were promised. We call on the responsible agencies and contractors to work with urgency to ensure the remainder of this project delivers meaningful benefits to affected communities,” said Alice Lowman, Chairwoman, Brooklyn Community Board 5

“Equitable, partnership-driven development begins long before the first worker arrives on a job site. It requires early outreach, clear communication about employment opportunities, required certifications, and intentional pathways that prepare local residents and businesses to participate. Although opportunities have been missed, there is still room to implement a transparent hiring and procurement strategy that ensures the affected communities share in the remaining economic benefits of this investment,” Odessa Fynn, Co Chair Land Use and Housing Committee – Brooklyn Community Board 5

“For far too long, the communities of Ocean Hill and Brownsville have experienced systematic divestment resulting in poor service delivery by agencies and little to no opportunities for economic growth. With one of the lowest median incomes in the City, it is a travesty that this project has not produced considerable gains for the constituents in Community Board 16. MTA has a responsibility to correct that injustice,” said Sydone Thompson, District Manager, Community Board 16. 

“Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation supports the long-overdue ADA accessibility upgrades and public realm improvements at Broadway Junction. This $400 million investment will make a critical transit hub safer and more accessible for East New York residents, but investment without community benefit is not progress. We stand with Council Member Sandy Nurse, community partners, and elected officials in calling on the MTA and ECCO III to strengthen local hiring, apprenticeship pathways, local procurement, and accountability. Broadway Junction should set the standard for how public investment benefits East New York,” said Michael G. Johnson, Executive Director, Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation

“The Broadway Junction project represents a significant investment in our community, and the residents of East New York and Brownsville deserve to see meaningful economic benefits from that investment. Broadway Junction should be more than a construction project. It should be an opportunity to create jobs, strengthen local businesses, and build lasting economic opportunities for the people who call this community home. We are asking for greater transparency regarding hiring practices, contractor participation, and the use of local suppliers and resources. Our community should not be left on the sidelines while major public investments are made in our own backyard.” said Anita D Ferebee, POTJNA (President of the Junction Neighborhood Association) 

“We had an amazing opportunity to work in partnership with the MTA, and recycle dollars in our community. This simple coordination could have yielded a micro stimulus plan for deserving area businesses and residents who are often neglected. However, what occurred  maintains and fortifies the narrative of East New York being under-resourced,” said Bill Wilkins, Executive Director of LDCENY & EBBID.

“Public projects like the Broadway Junction ADA improvements should create real opportunities for local residents, veterans, and qualified minority-owned contractors. Investing in the community must also mean hiring from the community,” said Cliff E, Owner, JetEx Mechanical LLC.

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