The initiative will aim to help young black and Latino men, a group that is disproportionately incarcerated, via new programs that include job-placement and training, new fatherhood classes, and increased oversight on how well schools are serving that population. The program will cost an estimated $130 million, and Bloomberg and friend George Soros will each contribute $30 million. The city’s probation commissioner said that he wants New Yorkers to see these men “not as the scary guy in a North Face jacket hanging at the corner, but as men who can have a positive impact in their neighborhoods.” North Face is just about the least scary brand reference ever for white people; clearly outreach PR efforts are already underway.
[NYT]
