In the winter of 2009, with more than 1.4 million job losses in the first two months of the year, the federal government passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law as a way to quickly inject liquidity into a stalling economy and maintain critical services that would allow individuals and communities to survive through the recession. At first glance, New York City made out pretty well. More than $7 billion in Recovery Act funds went to programs benefiting New York City residents, which was more than many entire states received. These funds went toward failing schools, community development block grants, building retrofits and a much needed temporary increase in the federal match for Medicaid, among many other things. The most important way of assessing these investments has always been in terms of the jobs saved and people helped, but from the beginning it was also hoped that Recovery Act investments would provide a unique opportunity for policy innovation and reform. In no policy area was this truer than in workforce development. And in no other city would the payoff and potential pitfalls be clearer than in New York, the country's largest workforce development system. The 2009 federal stimulus brought a huge infusion of funds to New York City for job training and workforce development; with the money now running out, the authors examine how the funds were spent and what the end of this funding stream means at a time when countless New Yorkers are still out of work. The Programs are appended. (Contains 16 endnotes.)