Brianna Cook, 14 and a resident of Hamilton Heights, is trying to use her summer days to plow through Jane Eyre and Angela's Ashes — two books the rising 10th grader needs to complete by the start of the school year. But, if she had her way, she would be getting work experience at a day camp on the Upper West Side.
"They go on a trip everyday, so I thought it would be fun — instead of staying in the house or staying in the camp — they go out and see different things," she said. "I was really looking forward to having a job."
Cook applied to work at the camp through the city's Summer Youth Employment Program, run by the Department of Youth and Community Development, but didn’t get selected. Kids are chosen by lottery, with the exception of a certain number of slots set aside for vulnerable youth, such as young people in foster care or who are homeless, for minimum wage jobs.
