NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Director Deanna Logan, and Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards announced Monday the first-ever expansion of the city’s “Next Mile NYC” CDL training program to people currently in custody at Rikers Island.
The program previously served participants in the community. For the first time, eligible inmates will begin a 40-hour online training while still behind bars and complete hands-on instruction and testing after release. The Rikers expansion launched in February 2026 at the Rose M. Singer Center Enhanced Supervised Housing Annex, with additional sites planned at the Eric M. Taylor Center and the Rose M. Singer Center. Three participants who began training while in custody have already received conditional job offers.
The expansion includes a $2.9 million investment in Fiscal Year 2026 and will serve up to 290 additional participants.
How the Broader Program Has Performed
Since launching in 2025, the overall Next Mile NYC program — which served community participants and a 20-person pilot — has delivered strong results. Among all participants to date: 266 earned Commercial Learner’s Permits, 99 obtained full CDLs, 93 received job offers, and 64 secured full-time employment with an average salary of $90,200. No participants have reported being rearrested. Every participant who completed driving training obtained a CDL and received a job offer within six months.
What Officials Are Saying
“Expanding Next Mile NYC to Rikers Island will create real pathways from incarceration to stable, well-paying jobs,” Mamdani said. “This effort reflects our administration’s belief that public safety comes from opportunity and investment in people — not just incarceration — while restoring dignity through meaningful work and building a safer, more just city.”
MOCJ Director Deanna Logan said the data backs up the approach. “Stable employment is one of the strongest predictors of success upon returning to community. By equipping participants with in-demand skills and connecting them directly to employers, individuals are exiting cycles of incarceration and returning to neighborhoods with a stronger workforce foundation that results in safer communities across New York City.”
DOC Commissioner Stanley Richards added: “Returning home after time away can be challenging, but when individuals have a plan, a clear pathway, and most importantly hope for a better future, they are empowered not just to move forward, but to truly flourish.”
Zo Orchingwa, co-founder and co-CEO of Emerge Career, said the program goes beyond credentials. “This isn’t a checkbox initiative or training that leads nowhere. Next Mile NYC is a real jobs and reentry program, built to change lives and change outcomes.”
Why Trucking
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, formerly incarcerated people face unemployment rates more than 13 times the national average. At the same time, the trucking industry faces major worker shortages. Next Mile NYC aims to connect those two realities. The program builds on a broader set of education and workforce programs already running on Rikers Island, including high school equivalency courses, college-level courses, horticulture, barbering, barista training, cosmetology, culinary arts, food handling, and OSHA certification.
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