Thread: Day laborers not welcome at a 7-Eleven in Farmingville

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Laborers not welcome
Work-seekers who had grown used to gathering at a 7-Eleven in Farmingville kicked out by new owner

BY BART JONES
STAFF WRITER

November 22, 2005

The new owner of a 7-Eleven in Farmingville that is a well-known gathering spot for day laborers on Long Island - and a symbol of the clash between angry residents and job-hungry immigrants - has kicked scores of workers off the property.

In the latest chapter of the Farmingville day laborer issue, the new owner, Gregory Kaloustian, or his employees, have called police several times in the last week or so when workers refused to leave the property, resulting in four arrests on trespassing charges, Suffolk police and a spokeswoman at 7-Eleven Inc.'s national headquarters in Dallas said yesterday.

The crackdown has prompted most day laborers to avoid the store property at the intersection of Horseblock Road and North Ocean Avenue. Yesterday morning, a dozen workers stood on sidewalks just off the property or across the street, compared to typical crowds of 100 or more.

"If we don't work here, in Mexico they don't eat," said one disgruntled worker, Juan Rivera, 36, a native of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. "How are they going to run a person out of here who is looking for work? Maybe the owner of the store doesn't have kids."

But many residents said they were delighted by the move. "I think it's a good idea," said Clinton Stepanek, 58. "It creates nothing but problems when you come down the road ... Something's got to be done. It's just out of control."

Residents complain the men - who have been gathering at the site for years - intimidate women and create traffic hazards as they rush to cars hoping they'll land a daily job. The workers and their advocates say they have no formal place to meet and just want to earn a living.

The crackdown follows a similar effort in East Hampton, where local police last week starting photographing the license plates of people who pick up day laborers near the train station. They say they will forward the information to the Internal Revenue Service, federal immigration authorities and the New York State Department of Labor.

Kaloustian took over the Farmingville store in May and made it clear he wanted the men off the property because they interfered with business and created safety problems, said Margaret Chabris, a spokeswoman at 7-Eleven Inc.'s headquarters in Dallas.

A series of meetings involving 7-Eleven representatives, including some who flew in from Dallas, immigrant advocates, Catholic church leaders and at times Suffolk Executive Steve Levy failed to resolve the issue, so Kaloustian started taking action, Chabris said.

Kaloustian could not be reached for comment yesterday. A man at the store who identified himself as the manager referred questions to 7-Eleven headquarters.

Some advocates, including Irma Solis of the nonprofit Workplace Project, warned that the men will simply move down the street, and said the ultimate solution is a formal hiring site. Chabris agreed the workers probably will shift locations, but said that "is a societal problem ... We can't solve it for the community."

For his part, Levy said, "any property owner who asks our assistance will receive help." He added, "We will not spend public money to facilitate an illegal underground activity" by creating a formal hiring site.

The East Hampton Village Police with the assistance of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office and the East Hampton Town Police is also clearing illegals out of their hiring spots on the East End.

Suffolk County is finally being cleaned up!!

GOOD FOR THEM! It's high time SOMEONE takes a STAND!

If they need a place to gather to wait for illegal employers, let them go to the "immigrant advocates, Catholic church leaders" parking lots.