Instead, why couldn't the jobs be "community" based? There is plenty of dilapidated housing stock. Most of it is in neighborhoods where people need employment. It doesn't require much skill to tear down a house. Couldn't these people be employed at minimum wage (perhaps higher) to tear down old houses, or fix them up? Cleaning up neighborhoods? Could material be supplied and they could be paid to beautify existing residences, insulate windows, I mean there's no shortage of *real* work that needs to be done. Summer youth employment is a joke (albeit somewhat necessary). Give people meaningful work, there's plenty of it, it's just not funded or on the radar of the voting public's eye.
A few problems here one is the unions. tearing down houses and rebuilding them are now union jobs so they would have to join the union first then you cant pay them 7.50 the other problem is funding. if you are hinting at more tax money to solve yet another problem you will just create more vacant houses it has to be harder to live off the publics back New york has to offer the same as most other states so we are no longer a welfare magnet.