"wE'RE COMING TO YOUR TOWN"

Immigrants fault muster zone

Mayor calls site "a work in progress," but some say it's too small
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/5/06
BY JOHN VANDIVER
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

LAKEWOOD — Gerardo Perez surveyed his surroundings in dismay and disbelief, and his questions quickly began to mount.

"It's very, very small. How are people going to fit?" wondered Perez on a recent visit to Lakewood's soon-to-open muster zone.

([color="red"]same way you cram 27 people in one house, Gerardo)

([color="Red"]i suppose there were supposed to be a golf course and tennis courts, perhaps an olympic size swimming pool too.)

Will contractors even bother to show up? Perez asked. Then Perez's thoughts turned to concerns about the safety of his fellow laborers.

"We ride bikes. It's very dangerous. People know we always carry cash. There's no way this thing is going to work," said Perez, vice president of Hispano Power, an organization of local day laborers.

([color="red"]hmmm, illegals riding bikes with cash, maybe the mayor can import some real bad ass nigs from Camden, got a problem with rats, nothing like a snake to clean things up)

Work on the roughly 4,500-square-foot muster zone is finished. Township officials are poised to activate the zone, situated in the Lakewood Industrial Park, by as early as the end of the month, Township Committeeman Raymond Coles said.

"It's not perfect, but it's a sign the town is looking for a solution. ([color="red"]how about using the Hazleton PA method of a solution)The first step is to try and get people off Clifton Avenue," Coles said. "We're not trying to hurt them. We're trying to make sure they have a clean, safe place" to find work. ([color="red"]and too make sure their away from hacidic businesses too)

The township wants the workers to gather at the muster zone's concrete slab, which features a roof to protect the men from the rain as they wait for work. The hope is that the contractors will follow the workers there.

"It's going to be a work in progress," said Mayor Meir Lichtenstein.

But while the township pushes ahead with its muster zone plan, it's unclear whether the workers themselves are willing to go.

"All I can say is it's a bad thing for us," said Perez, 27, who lives in Lakewood with his wife and three children.

Some downtown merchants, who have complained that the presence of the day laborers hurts business, are trying to raise money to hire a person to help oversee the work zone in the beginning, Lichtenstein said.

The merchants contend that the per-diem workers who assemble downtown in the morning clog the sidewalks and keep customers away.

Members of the Lakewood Clergy Association, a group of about 35 churches, also have expressed interest in helping to supervise the work zone. Some members of the clergy group, however, have concerns about the township's plan in its existing form.

"We've been very clear we agree with the workers that the location is, at best, a meager effort by the township to do something. We need more than just a bus stop. It's just not enough," said the Rev. Gary N. Stiegler, president of the clergy association.

Coles and Lichtenstein said the township needs to start somewhere. The potential to add more social services at the industrial park in the future could make the muster zone more attractive to the workers, they argue.

The workers, however, continue to resist. Perez said the muster zone, located some three miles from downtown on Swarthmore Avenue, isn't accessible. There's insufficient public transportation, there's insufficient parking for workers who drive, and roads are unsafe for bicyclists, Perez said.

Hispano Power has circulated a petition among fellow laborers, in which the group has expressed its opposition to relocating to the industrial park. The petition has 98 names so far. Lichtenstein said he intends to meet with members of Hispano Power this week.

Meanwhile, members of the clergy association have been meeting regularly with the new day laborer group, discussing their concerns.

"We're coming from the position that it's better that the day laborers work than don't work," Stiegler said. "It's better that they have money to put food on the table for their family and to get them on the road to getting themselves documented."

A muster zone closer to the downtown homes of the workers would be a better alternative, the clergy group contends.

"The best thing to come out of this whole thing so far is that the day laborers have gotten themselves into a group and have themselves a name," Stiegler said.

The township intends to divert workers from Clifton Avenue to the muster zone through tighter enforcement of various township ordinances, Lichtenstein said.

For instance, contractors who stop their trucks in the street to pick up workers should be ticketed and those who litter should be cited, he said.

"I think this is something that is very, very feasible," Lichtenstein said. "I'm asking the police department to enforce ordinances on the books."

While some residents have raised concerns about the impact the laborers have on downtown businesses, there are others who say it's improper for the township to work with the laborers — many of whom are believed to be illegal immigrants.

Coles, however, said such criticism is misdirected. "We can't round them up and send them home. They're residents of this town, and we have a responsibility to make sure they have a safe place to live and work," Coles said.

For the workers, the main concern is finding employment each morning. Efforts to shuttle them off to an out-of-the-way muster zone are dehumanizing, Perez said.

"It's like we're some package to be delivered and not human beings," said Perez.

John Vandiver: (732)557-5739 or jvandiver@app.com