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Queens
Weekly in-person training
Learn business, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and work-readiness skills in a room where you can ask questions and practice.
Queens · OBEC
Queens, this is a place to build.
Free business and entrepreneurship training, mentoring, life coaching, and mental health support for justice-involved Black men ages 18–29. Start where you are. Build from there.
Apply for QueensA Queens welcome
From Jamaica to Astoria, Flushing to Far Rockaway, there is room for your next move here.
Why Queens
Your community can be part of the plan.
Queens is full of people building something: local entrepreneurs, neighbors with ideas, and mentors who know what it means to keep moving. Our Queens program is built around that community — a place to learn practical skills, get honest guidance, and find support close to home.
Community
Learn alongside people who understand where you’re coming from.
Local ideas
Make room for the business or work goal you want to pursue.
Queens mentors
Get guidance from people connected to the borough.
A week in Queens
Come with questions. Leave with a next step.
The weekly program brings in-person training and coaching together. You can learn, check in, work through a goal, and use the support that helps you keep going.
Learn together.
Join weekly in-person training focused on business, entrepreneurship, and work-ready skills.
Check in with a coach.
Use coaching to talk through the goal in front of you and make it more manageable.
Keep building.
Use mental health support and job placement support as part of your next move.
Four pillars, built for Queens
Support for the whole picture.
A business idea, a job goal, and your well-being can all matter at the same time.
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Queens
Mentoring and life coaching
Talk through your goals with people who can help you turn a big idea or next move into a plan you can use.
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Queens
Mental health support
Make space for your well-being while you build. Support is part of moving forward, not something you have to handle alone.
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Queens
Job placement support
Get practical help with resumes, interview preparation, and connecting your skills to work.
Eligibility
You do not need to have it all figured out.
Ages 18–29. The program is designed for young men at this stage of their next move.
No college degree required. Your education history does not decide whether you belong here.
Justice-involved welcome. You can bring your full story and still be supported as you move forward.
Getting to us · what to bring
Start with a way to reach you.
The Queens program is transit-friendly. You do not need documents beyond basic contact information to start the conversation.
Bring
Your questions and goals
A business idea, work goal, or simply a desire to move forward is enough to begin.
Have ready
Basic contact information
A phone number or email address where the team can reach you.
Queens questions
Good to know.
Still wondering if this is for you? Start with the question. We’ll meet you with respect and a straight answer.
Is the Queens program free?
Yes. The program is free to participate.
Do I need a college degree?
No. A college degree is not required.
Can I apply if I am justice-involved?
Yes. Justice-involved Black men ages 18–29 are welcome to apply.
Do I need to live in one specific Queens neighborhood?
No. Participants from across Queens — including Jamaica, Astoria, Flushing, Far Rockaway, Corona, the Rockaways, and Southeast Queens — are welcome.
Where in Queens do sessions happen?
Apply and tell us you are interested in Queens. The team will follow up with the current location details and next step.
Queens starts here