The program, which launched in 2025, supports participants earning their Commercial Learner’s Permits (CLPs) with behind-the-wheel training and job placement support in the commercial trucking industry. Next Mile NYC was last expanded in March 2026 to assist people in custody on Rikers Island in obtaining their CLPs and securing stable jobs.
The new expansion will allow more than 11,000 New Yorkers currently under Department of Probation supervision to access the program.
“Public safety is built by creating the conditions that allow people to establish stable lives,” Mamdani said in a Thursday press release. “Expanding Next Mile NYC means thousands more New Yorkers on probation will have access to good-paying jobs, a pathway to long-term stability and the chance to provide for their families.”
Through a partnership with the workforce development organization Emerge Career, participants complete a 40-hour online CDL training course before completing the New York State CDL road test. Since the program’s launch, 306 participants have earned their CLP, 187 have obtained a CDL, and 111 secured full-time employment with an average salary of $73,573.
Zero participants have reported being rearrested after completing the program.
“When we invest in opportunity, we reduce recidivism, strengthen our economy and make our city safer for all,” Mamdani said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported in 2024 that nearly six out of every 10 formerly incarcerated individuals face unemployment from the end of their sentencing to four years after their release. At the same time, the trucking industry has faced significant workforce shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the American Trucking Associations projecting a shortfall of 82,000 drivers in 2026.
Deanna Logan, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, said that Next Mile NYC allows the city to invest in careers that “support public safety.”
“By expanding this program to New Yorkers under community supervision, we are creating more pathways to financial stability, while removing a significant barrier from individuals returning to their community,” Logan said.
Sharun Goodwin, commissioner of the NYC DOP, noted that the program provides participants with a smoother reintegration into communities, allowing the city to “build safer neighborhoods and stronger futures.”
“Every person deserves the opportunity to write a new chapter,” Goodwin said. “At the Department of Probation, we see the potential in the people we serve every day, and we know that access to meaningful employment can change the trajectory of a life.”