Queens non-profit opens in Laurelton
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Nonprofit 100 Suits opened a new location in Laurelton on Friday. Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.`
Queens community organization 100 Suits for 100 Men opened new office space in Laurelton Friday, ready to connect residents to resources and dress clothes.
Founder Kevin Livingston was joined by other local leaders to celebrate the ribbon cutting, which was made possible with funding from the city’s violence prevention programs.
“I’m really at a loss for words,” Livingston said. “Today is a very special day.”
He was joined by borough President Donovan Richards, who said that 100 Suits work is about community and building a better future for the residents.
Richards recalled when Livingston, who was homeless in 2016, told him he was quitting his job to start the organization and the pride at seeing the work done since then.
“Today is such a great day because we know the police department, as great as they are, can only do what they can do,” Richards said. “But really we know that when you're trying to find solutions to address the systemic issues in our community that the people closest to the pain often have solutions to the pain.”
“People need to see people who look like them, from their community… validators in our community are the answer,” he added. “Thank you for putting our suit on young folks who need to know they come from a place where kings and queens come from and when they put that suit on… they can go into that job interview feeling [ready].”
The nonprofit helps connect low-income, at-risk and formerly incarcerated residents with business clothes and career readiness skills to help with reentry — though that doesn’t stop them from leading other community outreach efforts.
Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers, who Richards credited with helping make the office happen, and Mayor Bill de Blasio were on hand for the ceremony.
“What I have been moved by… is all of you here [creating] hope where it didn't exist before,” de Blasio said. “Everyone at 100 Suits made a decision long ago that you would not accept a broken society, that you would change it - you are making that change. Every young person who sees your example starts to believe in themselves a little more.”
De Blasio said that the model of 100 Suits marks a shift towards a system that relies on community more than uniformed officer — a shift where the definition of public safety needs to change.
“You can say we’re here for a new office, that's not what I'm feeling; I'm feeling it's a new paradigm, a new possibility,” he said. “This is the way we need to go. What you’re doing in Queens will reverberate throughout the nation.”
