By Howard Koplowitz
Get your résumé ready.
Resorts World Casino New York, the developer of the Aqueduct racino project, said Tuesday it has launched its process to hire more than 900 workers to work at the Ozone Park track and will be focusing on employing residents from southeast Queens.
“We are very excited to officially start staffing Resorts World,” said Resorts World Casino New York President Mike Speller. “This project is not just about bringing jobs to Queens; it’s about creating careers and forming relationships with the local community. Our goal is to build a local, diverse and hardworking family of Resorts World employees that will move up within our company.”
Resorts World will be hiring employees for positions in fields, including entertainment, hospitality, security and food services.
Job applications and vendor proposals can be submitted through the “careers” and “vendor forums” sections of the Resorts World website at rwnewyork.com.
“With so many Queens neighborhoods plagued by high levels of unemployment, Resorts World’s permanent staffing outreach could not be more timely,” said Harry Wells, director of York College’s Small Business Development Center. “There are some terrific opportunities at Resorts World out there for Queens residents and local businesses looking for work. Few employers offer so many job and vendor possibilities in such a wide range of fields, and even fewer are as committed to supporting local [Minority Women Business Enterprises] as is Resorts World.”
Wells’ comments came after the Aqueduct project was criticized by the Jamaica branch of the NAACP, with the organization saying Resorts World was not employing enough construction workers and contractors from southeast Queens.
But the company said minority and female workers make up 54 percent of the project’s construction work force and 33 percent of the total contracts — worth $50 million — doled out by construction manager Tutor Perini were given to MWBE-certified subcontractors and suppliers.
Kevin Bogle, vice president of human resources for Resorts World, said the company has been working with employment services centers for four months to prepare for hiring more than 900 permanent positions.
“We are a company that is committed to empowering the local community and hiring from within the local area,” he said. “That’s what we have been doing in the construction phase of this project, and that’s what we will continue to do as we take this critical step in preparing Resorts World to open for business.”
The casino said it would be placing advertisements in local publications and host on-site job fairs as part of its hiring process.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
Editor's note: Changed headline and story to reflect the jobs are not temporary.
