New York City is taking a big step toward turning incarceration into opportunity.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, along with Deanna Logan, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and Stanley Richards, commissioner of the Department of Correction on Monday announced that the city’s successful “Next Mile NYC” Commercial Driver’s License training program is expanding to people in custody on Rikers Island.
The program, in partnership with Emerge Career, provides 40 hours of online training while participants are still in custody, followed by hands-on instruction and testing after release.
The expansion emphasizes that public safety grows from opportunity and investment in people rather than incarceration alone. By giving participants meaningful work and in-demand skills, the program helps strengthen communities and reduce cycles of incarceration, officials said.
“Expanding Next Mile NYC to Rikers Island will create real pathways from incarceration to stable, well-paying jobs," Mamdani said in a statement.
Stable employment is a key factor in success after release. Next Mile NYC equips participants with marketable skills and connects them to employers, helping them return to neighborhoods with stronger workforce foundations. The program also provides structure, support and hope for a better future, empowering people to thrive after time in custody.
The partnership with Emerge Career brings second chances rooted in careers rather than just credentials. Training begins before release, opening doors to skilled trades and creating a real reentry pathway. The program is designed to produce tangible outcomes rather than being a checkbox initiative.
The expansion comes with a $2.9 million investment for Fiscal Year 2026 and will serve up to 290 additional participants. This builds on a 2025 pilot that served 20 people. Since the program’s launch, 266 participants have earned Commercial Learner’s Permits, 99 obtained CDLs, 93 received job offers and 64 secured full-time employment with an average salary of $90,200. No participants have been rearrested and everyone who completed the training obtained a CDL and a job offer within six months.
The program began in Feb. 2026 at the Rose M. Singer Center RESH Annex, with plans to expand to the Eric M. Taylor Center and the Rose M. Singer Center. It addresses two critical needs: expanding economic opportunity for justice-involved New Yorkers and meeting workforce demand. Trucking and other industries face major worker shortages, while formerly incarcerated people experience unemployment rates more than 13 times the national average. By connecting people to stable careers before release, the program strengthens public safety and reduces recidivism.
