NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The City of New Rochelle has joined more than 100 cities nationwide to “Ban the Box” on its municipal job application, effective this month. The City’s Ban the Box initiative defers questions on arrests and prior convictions until the job interview. The City’s Civil Service office accepts job applications for the City of New Rochelle, the City School District, the New Rochelle Public Library and the Municipal Housing Authority.
“A criminal record is not an automatic bar to employment,” said City Manager Charles B. Strome, III. “Removing the boxes on the City’s initial application better reflects our practice of putting information on arrests and convictions in place among other factors in consideration for employment.”
New Rochelle City Councilmember Jared Rice, co-chair of My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) New Rochelle, a partnership between the City and School district, noted, “We are delighted that the City of New Rochelle has ‘Banned the Box’ and taken steps to improve employment opportunities for those with arrest records and the formerly incarcerated. One of the key principles President Obama highlighted in his MBK initiative, which is aimed at improving the lives of boys and young men of color, is the need to give adolescents and young adults ‘second chances,’ and this change does just that.”