Thread: Lakewood, NJ: Muster Zone Did'nt work

http://link.toolbot.com/newsbank.com/65623


February 15, 2007
Section: NEWS


NEW MUSTER ZONE DID'NT WORK

JOHN VANDIVER
Asbury Park Press

By JOHN VANDIVER

TOMS RIVER BUREAU

The portable bathrooms have been hauled away from the concrete slab in the Lakewood Industrial Park, where township officials had hoped day workers would congregate each morning.

With the so-called muster zone still dormant, township officials are acknowledging its failure to lure workers from the storefronts along Clifton Avenue where they've long gathered. And officials are now looking for alternatives. "There are a couple of private entities that have contacted me and are talking about doing something," Mayor Raymond Coles said.

When the muster zone opened in October, the workers didn't go there, staying downtown instead. In the weeks and months that followed, the workers didn't make the three-mile trek from Clifton Avenue to the industrial park.

Though it's too early to name those involved, Coles said there are some church groups interested in setting up a work center closer to downtown.

As for the scene on Clifton Avenue, those who work there say things have changed somewhat since the muster zone was launched four months ago.

At the coffee shop on the corner of First Street and Clifton, laborers were warming themselves Tuesday morning as they waited for work. While there was a steady crowd of customers, traffic inside the Bakery Coffee Shop isn't what it was before the launch of the new and unused muster zone, shop owner Dave Raj said.

"The workers have spread out," said Raj, explaining that fewer men gather on Clifton Avenue these days.

Back in October, police began a zero-tolerance enforcement of parking regulations downtown in an effort to crack down on contractors who park illegally as they solicit workers. As a result, workers and contractors began to coordinate pickup locations on side streets to avoid police.

"The result of it all is there's been a spreading out of the day workers," said Gary Stiegler, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lakewood, who works with members of Lakewood's Hispanic community.

For example, each morning a van pulls up near Stiegler's Lakewood home, where the driver honks his horn and a group of workers head out for the day, Stiegler said.

"I think that's happening pretty much all around town," he said. "I think the people are learning what the boundaries are."

Stiegler, who serves as president of the Lakewood Clergy Association, said the organization will continue to advocate that the laborers — many of whom are assumed to be illegal immigrants — have safe conditions.

"The clergy association takes the stand that as long as we have folks here, we'd rather see them working than not working," said Stiegler, who is unfamiliar with the talks under way for a possible new muster zone location.

Last year, Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein led the push for the muster zone in the industrial park. It cost the town about $40,000 to build and was constructed so that it could be moved to a park if the muster zone failed to work.

With the portable bathrooms already moved from the work zone, and Coles now looking for alternatives, there's a recognition in the township that the Swarthmore Avenue location won't work. "At the end of the day, this isn't going to be solved by putting a Band-Aid on it once," said Lichtenstein, who defended the muster zone as an attempt to provide a safe location for workers to gather.

The movement to push day workers off Clifton Avenue was sparked by concerns among some downtown business owners, who complained of congested traffic and unruly behavior among some of the laborers.

The workers, however, were resistant to relocating to the industrial park, citing concerns about a long, hazardous bike ride along heavily traveled Cedar Bridge Avenue. Leaders among the day workers have called for alternative locations near downtown.

Coles said he hopes to sit down within the next two weeks with the groups interested in operating a new muster zone closer to downtown.

In the meantime, Lichtenstein said he's worried that there has been a let-up in traffic enforcement and that there could be a return of the problems that provoked an interest in establishing a special muster zone in the first place. More vigilance is needed, Lichtenstein said.

For Raj, though, it is the laborers who are the staple of his business. He hopes any effort to establish a new work zone won't pull his customers too far away.

The heightened enforcement downtown has "hurt business a little. But they're starting to come back," Raj said.

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

The town of Lakewood spent $30,000 to make the muster zone which looks like a bus stop. A concrete slab with a covering and porta-johns and garbage cans.

What a waste of money. They could of used $30,000 more wisely, perhaps to hire a new police officer.

Sounds like these criminal aliens are spoiled rotten and lazy to boot, everything has to be just to suit them. Instead the town should call ICE!

According to federal law, it is a felony to knowingly aid and abet illegal aliens.

Isn't that what city of Lakewood doing here. This is more than closing your eyes, it is flat out braking the law.

With the so-called muster zone still dormant, township officials are acknowledging its failure to lure workers from the storefronts along Clifton Avenue where they've long gathered. And officials are now looking for alternatives. "There are a couple of private entities that have contacted me and are talking about doing something," Mayor Raymond Coles said.

Private entities? How about public "entities" rounding them up and sending them home Mayor Cole? How about looking our for the American Citizens you are supposed to represent?

With the so-called muster zone still dormant, township officials are acknowledging its failure to lure workers from the storefronts along Clifton Avenue where they've long gathered. And officials are now looking for alternatives.

Duh!? The obvious alternative is to apprehend and deport the criminal alien day laborers. After the criminal aliens are gone, the two or three American citizen remaining should be easy to manage. Geez, do we here at ALIPAC have to figure everything out for you.

The city could have paid the expenses to train several officers on immigration enforcement. Deport the criminal aliens and then the city will not need a muster zone.

With the so-called muster zone still dormant, township officials are acknowledging its failure to lure workers from the storefronts along Clifton Avenue where they've long gathered. And officials are now looking for alternatives. "There are a couple of private entities that have contacted me and are talking about doing something," Mayor Raymond Coles said.

Here's a much cheaper alternative: ROUND 'EM UP AND DEPORT THEIR ILLEGAL ASSES!
$30k would certainly buy quite a few one way bus tickets!