The New York City Council, along with the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and community partners, announced the launch of New York City’s first Community Interpreter Bank.
The NYC Community Interpreter Bank will centralize interpreting services available to immigrants across the five boroughs. The initiative will also create sustainable pathways for community members to gain certification and employment as interpreters who provide essential language services to limited-English-proficient New Yorkers for city-funded legal service providers, community navigation sites, and NYC Council offices. Interpreters fluent in the most commonly requested languages will help ensure that every immigrant in the city can access services and information in their preferred language.
The second of its kind in the country, and the first in the state of New York, the NYC Community Interpreter Bank will recruit interpreters from around the city, including those contracted with other worker-owned language cooperatives and interpreters who have completed the interpreter certification courses at Hostos Community College (part of the City University of New York). These interpreters will work as independent contractors, delivering vital language services across the city.
“We are proud to celebrate the council’s investments to create the city’s first Community Interpreter Bank, which will help ensure that services are available in the languages that residents speak,” said NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.
“Language interpreting services are a vital pillar of a healthy, thriving, and diverse New York City, for both new and long-term immigrants navigating complex systems in an unfamiliar language,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of NYIC. “The NYC Community Interpreter Bank ensures these individuals can access critical services in their preferred language while also creating a direct pipeline to employment for New Yorkers trained in interpreting.”
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New York City Council (1/29/25)