New Day Labor Site Opens in Mamaroneck Village

VOM Settles Civil Rights Suit

bu Harold Wolfson, photos by Myra Hafetz

(June 14, 2007) A new day labor center opened Tuesday, June 12 at Strait Gate Church in Mamaroneck Village with a celebration attended by the organizers, the press, a small group of protestors and a handful of workers. “We are now open for business," said the pastor of the church, Bishop Wayne Powell. " We are determined to make this work.”

Made possible by an agreement between the church and the Hispanic Resource Center, the new facility will replace an informal gathering site at nearby Columbus Park that was closed by the Mamaroneck Village Board in February, 2006. (See: Village of Mamaroneck Closes Day Labor Site.) On Monday night, the board voted to settle a federal civil rights suit won by six day laborers who claimed they had been harassed near the park. (See: Ruling Finds Mam'k Village Discriminated Against Hispanics.)

Bishop Wayne Powell of the Strait Gait Church and Mariana Boneo of the Hispanic Resource Center address those gathered for the opening of a new day labor site.

Strait Gate Church, a non-denominational, Protestant and largely African-American congregation of about 1300 families, is no newcomer to helping those in need, indicated Bishop Powell. He said it already houses a flourishing Spanish Church and in the past has provided facilities for a homeless shelter, a Brazilian Church and even a messianic Jewish congregation.

He noted in his address to those gathered to witness the opening, “We built a school in a poor area of Santa Domingo, so why wouldn’t we be willing to help the same kind of people who now live across the street from us.”

John Gitlitz, president of the Hispanic Resource Center Board, welcomes the opening of the center.

“The new center is a dream come true,” said John Gitlitz, president of the Hispanic Resource Center (HRC), which will operate the “Worker Center” in partnership with Strait Gate.

A Critic Appears

Dr. Gitlitz had hardly finished those words when Elinore Chechak, a New York City woman in a bright red t-shirt emerged from a small knot of protestors waiting outside the church parking lot. Ms. Chechak berated the hosts for favoring workers, some of whom she said crashed the immigration line while those who played by the rules were left waiting in their native country.

A covey of TV cameramen clustered at the front of the audience quickly settled around Ms. Chechak. Dr. Gitliz halted his comments and allowed Ms. Checkak to have her say before continuing.

Mariana Boneo, executive director of the HRC, noted that the new center was a “work in progress.” Only a few workers were at the center on Tueday; it will take time to build their trust said Ms. Boneo. She said she knew there was concern in the neighborhood and elsewhere and she welcomed candid dialogue.

Residents and businesses from the surrounding streets have appeared at board meetings to discuss potential problems, including an increase in traffic and a fear of men gathering where children are walking to school. In the next three weeks or so, Ms. Boneo said she plans to host another gathering to ask the community to share continuing concerns. She promised that she and her colleagues would be good listeners, and if there is need for adjustments in the way the center operates, changes will be made.

Center Will Shelter Workers Inside

The new center is a few blocks from the previous site at Columbus Park, which the Village closed last year, citing complaints of public nuisances and a growing number of workers from outside the village. In the interim, workers have sought employment from contractors and residents at various spots along highly-trafficked Mamaroneck Avenue. Ms. Boneo said the new location will give workers a safe, weather-protected facility with educational opportunities and bathrooms. The center would be open to workers of all races and ethnic backgrounds, and in the future she hopes to have a work program for women.

As part of its agreement with Strait Gate, the HRC has hired Howard Coke, a church parishioner for 17 years. He will be posted in the parking lot registering contractors and other employers seeking workers. After noting their requirements, he will communicate by radio to HRC’s worker coordinator inside the church, who will use a lottery system to select workers waiting in the building.

In addition to the hiring hall, the workers will have opportunities to confer with a case worker or take classes in English or other topics. During the warmer months, the center will be open from 6 am to approximately noon, Monday through Saturday.

A Critic Changes His Mind

A half hour before the center’s official opening, Mamaroneck resident Glenn Tippett arrived in a car loaded with just-purchased boxes of pastries and coffee. In the past, Mr. Tippett has been an outspoken opponent of a new day labor site.

After delivering his goodies, Mr. Tippitt said a presentation by Bishop Powell and Ms. Boneo at the previous night’s Village Board meeting had helped change his mind. He was glad the new site was on private property and that the workers would be indoors. He said “I think your group is going at it the right way. I think this can work out.”

Suit Settled

The previous evening, the Mamaroneck Village trustees had voted three-to-one, with one abstention, to settle a law suit filed in federal court by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund on behalf of six anonymous day laborers who charged the Village and its police with harassing Hispanic workers.

In the settlement, the Village agreed to pay $550,000 in fees to the plaintiffs' lawyers and to modify police procedures in a number of ways, including ending routine inquiries into an individual’s immigration status. Voting for the settlement were the three Democrats, Trustees Tom Murphy, Toni Pergola Ryan and John Hofstetter. Mayor Phil Trifiletti, a Republican, voted against the settlement, and Trustee Tony Fava, an Independent, recused himself because of a prior business relationship with Reverend Powell.

A Chance to Succeed

The only Village trustee at the center’s opening was Ms. Pergola Ryan, who lives two blocks away. She said she really wants to give the center a chance to succeed. She indicated that having a work center was much more practical than a law suit.

Ms. Boneo said her organization recognizes that the center faces a challenge in winning the confidence of many workers who are still mindful of previous police actions that drove away employers. “We have to show that employers will be willing to come to the center,” she said. “ It won’t happen overnight. It will take months.”

Harold Wolfson is on the board of the Hispanic Resource Center.

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