For formerly incarcerated New Yorkers, Citi Bike’s growth is a job opportunity

Lovelle Jones was 16 when he was convicted of murder and began what would be an 18-year stint in prison.

“I was young,” Jones said. “I was engulfed in violence and the street life and the negativity and the gang culture and things of that nature.”

Now, at the age of 34, things appear to have turned around for Jones, who was released from prison in January and hasn’t held a job before. He’s one of 20 men and women wrapping up an innovative workforce development course run by the nonprofit Bike New York, called Bike Path.

The three-week course, which launched in 2019, prepares formerly incarcerated men and women to become certified bike mechanics. Thanks to the steady growth of the Citi Bike program across the five boroughs, the program boasts a nearly 100% job placement rate.