![\"20250710_102019\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250710_102019-rotated.jpg\")
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Fordham University President Tania Tetlow speaks at the groundbreaking for a green jobs center near the school on July 10, 2025. <\/p>\n
Photo Emily Swanson<\/p>\n
A long-empty storefront at 585 East Fordham Rd. is being transformed into a green jobs center, under a new partnership between Fordham University and other public and private contributors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people gathered for a mini block party, complete with food and live music, to celebrate the July 10 groundbreaking.\n<\/p>\n
The center will make use of a 12,000-square-foot space that has sat vacant for over a decade. Projected to open in fall 2026, it will house a lab, workforce training center, the state\u2019s first green economy entrepreneurship center, a cafe and a 200-person event center.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250710_105144.jpg\")
This long-vacant site will house a green jobs center starting next year.Photo Emily Swanson<\/p>\n
Of the $14 million total investment, the NYC Economic Development Corporation contributed $3 million in city capital to the project, and Council Member Oswald Feliz, whose office overlooked the block party, secured $1.1 million. Other contributors include the New York State Dormitory Authority and the One Girl Foundation, established by Fordham alum Meaghan Barakett.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Energy efficiency jobs overall in the state are expected to grow by more than 60% by 2030, and the center will target specific industries that are on the rise, according to Fordham.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the city and state transition to clean energy sources for buildings, vehicles and more, demand is growing for workers who install charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and solar panels, and in the trades such as HVAC, electricians and insulators. The workforce center will train people in those areas and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fordham President Tania Tetlow said that today\u2019s students expect universities to take action on climate change and that the green jobs center reflects the school\u2019s Jesuit values.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an imperative of our Catholic faith to treasure the creation that God has gifted us,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
As the economy shits to new job opportunities, the center will ensure that vulnerable communities like the Bronx are included, said Tetlow. \u201cWe want to be part of connecting the dots.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Hundreds attended the mini block party for the jobs center groundbreaking. Photo\u00a0Emily Swanson<\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres said the vacant site has been \u201can eyesore\u201d throughout most of his time in elected office but is now \u201ctransforming a relic of the past into a frontier of the future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amid threats to both higher education and green energy from the federal government, Torres praised Tetlow and the university for standing firm.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cFordham University is not running away from those values, it\u2019s running toward those values,\u201d he said. \u201cFordham is on the right side of history.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said the center will help career changers, students and adults of all ages learn innovative, in-demand trades.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe momentum is there, and we are so excited about this project,\u201d said Gibson.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fordham University President Tania Tetlow speaks at the groundbreaking for a green jobs center near the school on…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":55153,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[40664,5229,40665,40666,40667,40668,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,40669,40670,40671,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-55152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-525-east-fordham-road","tag-america","tag-bronx-borough-president-vanessa-l-gibson","tag-council-member-oswald-feliz","tag-fordham-university","tag-green-jobs","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-edc","tag-rep-ritchie-torres","tag-tania-tetlow","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114831124470969858","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55152\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}