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Study: Job sites curb crime
Communities that offer solutions have fewer hate attacks and lessen tensions, says report by Hofstra

BY BART JONES
STAFF WRITER

March 10, 2006

Organized hiring sites reduce hate crime attacks against day laborers and help relieve tensions in communities, according to a Hofstra University study released yesterday.

The yearlong study by the school's Center for the Study of Labor and Democracy also ranked eight Long Island communities for levels of violence and other abuse against day laborers. It found Roslyn Heights, Farmingville and Franklin Square had the worst records and Glen Cove, Huntington Station and Farmingdale the best.

The report, which also examined Westbury and Freeport, described acts of violence and harassment against day laborers, including one worker who was whipped with a belt by a contractor to make him work faster. It also found people in passing cars sometimes throw eggs, bottles and garbage at day laborers.

According to the study, one-fourth of day laborers said they had been physically assaulted at least once while looking for work or on the job - 109 times the rate for the general population in the Northeast.

"Official hiring sites reduce hate and hate crimes against day laborers," said Gregory M. Maney, a sociology professor at Hofstra who conducted the study along with the nonprofit Hempstead-based Workplace Project. Public officials who crack down on the workers without providing alternative solutions are "basically putting gasoline on the fire of hate and hate crimes."

Organized sites have received mixed reactions from Long Island public officials. As mayor of Glen Cove in 1994, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi opened the first organized site on the East Coast, arguing it was a practical solution to head off violence. But his counterpart in Suffolk, Steve Levy, opposes them, saying they condone illegal activities because some workers are undocumented immigrants who don't pay taxes on their wages.

"The creation of these sites is akin to the government aiding and abetting an illegal underground economy that puts legitimate companies out of business," Levy said yesterday.

Long Island is home to at least 20 locations where day laborers gather. Along with Glen Cove, Freeport and Huntington Station have organized hiring sites, while Farmingdale has a community center for Latino immigrants.

"Our survey indicates that Roslyn Heights has the worst overall human rights record of the eight communities covered by our survey," the report stated. "The finding illustrates that intensive abuses against day laborers on Long Island are not just confined to Farmingville, which has received the most media coverage on the issue."

The report added: "We call upon local officials in Roslyn Heights, Farmingville and Franklin Square to immediately address the situation."

Officials for North Hempstead Town and Hempstead Town, which include Roslyn Heights and Franklin Square, said they have made no decision on a hiring site. Officials in Brookhaven Town, which includes Farmingville, could not be reached.