Solution Sought On Day Laborers

As day laborers continue their search for work on the streets of Queens, the City Council and community members are looking forward to the day when they wont have to.
Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights) introduced a resolution last Thursday calling for hearings on the issue, and described a meeting in her office last week between police, day laborers and community members as "a good beginning."
Sears and Community Board 2 Chairman Joseph Conley, whose district covers a stretch of Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside that is popular with day laborers, are seeking an indoor site where police and workers can meet to discuss quality-of-life issues in the area.
Meanwhile, a consensus is emerging that a hiring center, in which day laborers would gather to sign up for jobs, take English classes and learn about labor laws, is a solution worth exploring.
Oscar Paredes, director of the Latin American Workers Project, attended the meeting along with some day laborers to discuss what kind of programs would be needed at a hiring center and what a suitable location would be.
"Were trying to locate a church or a nonprofit or someone that would be willing to donate space," said Conley. "Clearly, we need to find a place for them to go and get educated."
A Korean church that sits on the Roosevelt Avenue overpass of the BQE was a possible candidate for weekend meetings, but Conley said it would not give space because it holds religious services on Saturday afternoons.
Conley also met with a pastor from St. Sebastians on Roosevelt and 58th Street, and planned to approach officials from the Universal Church on the corner of 69th Street, where many day laborers congregate. The church turned down a past request for a formal meeting space, but Conley said he would try again.
Also present at Sears meeting were police from the 108th Precinct, who have been cracking down on quality-of-life crimes that some residents blame on day laborers in the area. "People in the area have a right to police protection and visibility because there is a rise in crime, and they will be there until crime is reduced," said a police spokesman.
Berta Montoya, owner of Bakery La Fama on Roosevelt Avenue, said that the police presence has cut her business in half over the past month. "Many of my customers are the guys that stand out there," she said. "With the police watching, they go to other places, and dont come in for rolls and coffee in the morning." Montoya supported the idea of a hiring center, but hoped it would be located nearby.
Letty Rodriguez, owner of a beauty salon a block away, said she and her largely female clientele would feel safer if the day laborers met at a hiring center. "Sometimes its just girls working here, and we dont feel safe in front of the store at night," she said. "They stare at you, and its uncomfortable."
Coromoto Silva opened a lingerie store on Roosevelt Avenue three weeks ago, and worries that workers sitting outside will scare away female customers. Still, she sympathizes with the day laborers plight.
"We all need to eat," she said. "Theyre not bad people. The system makes them that way."