By Gabriel Rom
Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) held his annual job fair at the Shops at Atlas Park last week, and even though the weather didn’t cooperate, over 85 vendors and hundreds of eager job-seekers showed up for the event.
“The one thing we can’t control is the weather, but it’s a success,” Addabbo said.
The annual fair, which was inaugurated in 2009 and has taken place at the Shops at Atlas Park four times, is a component of what Addabbo considers a year-round effort to help his constituents find their way into the job market.
The fair included vendors from industries including government and banking. Part-time, full-time, managerial and secretarial positions were available.
“As an elected official, you have a unique opportunity to help people find work,” Addabbo said, “whether it be our contacts or what comes across our desks. It’s critical.”
While the Atlas Park fair is “the big one,” Addabbo’s office also hosts a seniors-only job fair every spring for those 50 and above.
“I’m here to see what’s going on and make some connections,” said Jose Lopez, who came from Manhattan and was looking for jobs in the customer-service industry.
Lopez wasn’t bothered by the rain. “Not coming because of the weather? Times are tough for everybody,” he scoffed.
As one may expect, Addabbo sees a strong correlation between the economy’s health and the number of people who show up to the fairs.
Addabbo said that as the economy has improved he has seen a decrease in the number of people attending the fairs.
“Now the unemployment rate is lowering, and I’ve seen the numbers decreasing at the job fair,” Addabbo said. “But we’re still going to do it. I’ll continue to do these job fairs until there is nobody on the line. It’s all about vendors who want to hire and instead of looking online they get to meet the people. You can’t beat that personal interaction.”
Randy Ramsita, a job-seeker from Maspeth, clutched a bundle of resumes under his arm. He saw the fair as an opportunity to look at jobs that may fit his diverse array of experiences. He had a background in computer programming as well as emergency services, but is urrently living at a friend’s house and only working part-time.
“Right now, I’m just trying to keep up with life itself,” he said. “We all know New York can be expensive.”
Reach reporter Gabriel Rom by e-mail at grom@
