Thread: Muster zone remains hot topic in Lakewood, NJ

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Muster zone remains hot topic in Lakewood

DAY LABORERS, TOWN OFFICIALS TRADE IDEAS
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/28/06
BY JOHN VANDIVER
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

LAKEWOOD — As Mayor Meir Lichtenstein stood before the men who wait for work downtown each morning — a practice the township will soon attempt to abolish — he made an appeal.

"I really hope you're going to give me a chance to try and make this work," Lichtenstein told a group of day laborers assembled at town hall Wednesday night.

The controversial and much-discussed muster zone will be operational Oct. 16, Lichtenstein calmly told the workers, residents and civic leaders in attendance.

As the discussion continued, the talk turned emotional as residents spoke of tolerance and human dignity, illegal-immigration concerns and quality-of-life matters. Lichtenstein would miss out on the back and forth.

After his opening remarks, the mayor politely excused himself for another appointment. The debate in town hall swirled on as the mayor walked out the door.

He was followed out by one of the day laborers. Outside town hall, Lichtenstein and Gerardo Perez, 27, were engaged in a quiet conversation. The two parted amicably, as they have on previous occasions.

"We're trying to talk to the mayor about alternatives. There's no way this will work. It's not possible," said Perez later. He then walked back into town hall, where he would soon address the crowd of about 50 people.

Beginning Oct. 16, the township will launch a plan to aggressively enforce township motor vehicle codes, targeting the contractors who stop illegally to pick up daily workers downtown.

"On the 16th, we're going to take a zero-tolerance approach," said Capt. Charles Smith of the Lakewood police.

Other ordinances to be aggressively enforced include prohibitions on defiant trespassing, harassment, hitchhiking and disorderly conduct.

The zero-tolerance plan will run from 6 to 10 a.m., the time when Clifton Avenue is most crowded with workers.

Discrimination alleged


The limited hours of enforcement sparked accusations of discrimination against the day laborers from the audience.

"Not fair: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m," shouted Alice Kelsey. Downtown Lakewood is a traffic nightmare, so why not enforce such laws all the time, she inquired. "It's discriminatory, discriminatory, discriminatory," she insisted.

While Smith rejected the accusation, he acknowledged another one of Kelsey's concerns.

Many of the laborers are expected to ride bicycles from their downtown homes to the new muster zone site in the Lakewood Industrial Park, a course on busy roads without sidewalks. "I'd be a liar to tell you I didn't have concerns about that," Smith said.

While some opponents of the muster zone say the concept is dehumanizing, other residents are angry about the plan for other reasons. Diane Reaves said Lichtenstein is turning Lakewood into a haven for undocumented workers by setting up the muster zone.

"This township has looked the other way," said Reaves, who wants the township to go after illegal immigrants. The muster zone, or employment center, is a concrete slab in Lakewood's Industrial Park — some five miles from the downtown streets where the men congregate. The Swarthmore Avenue location includes a roof.

The presence of the men, many of whom are assumed to be illegal, has angered some local merchants who say the crowd hurts business. And the contractors are also criticized for creating problems by clogging up downtown streets when they stop to look for workers.

Urges cooperation


Smith told the workers that police also will be cracking down on public drunkenness, urination and other quality-of-life issues downtown. He called on the workers for their support. "We have to develop a relationship of trust," Smith said. "They (township officials) are looking to support you. We need your cooperation."

The discussion was organized by the law office of Sam Z. Brown, who hosts a variety of community awareness programs on hot-button issues in town.

Perez, vice president of the laborer group Hispano Power, gave no indication Wednesday that the workers intend to go to the muster zone.

"I applaud how the mayor has tried to listen to what we have to say," he told the crowd. Nonetheless, "The day laborers are working on a Plan B."

Perez says the group needs a location closer to their downtown homes.

Perez went on to call for understanding as he was applauded by his supporters. "We are different but we are not enemies," he said.

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

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I say give them a muster zone...........THEN CALL ICE TO COME AN GET THEM! This isn't Rocket science.

Good idea! The probelm is that it won't happen anytime soon. There are areas like that in South Miami and you don't hear ICE getting them. They do sometimes follow the workers to see where they are working and if there numerous illegals on the job site and then conduct their raids. I think they need to be caught working illegally.