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Answer Man: Day Laborer Hiring Site in Huntington Station Should Stay Open

Posted May 12, 2010 by Ted Hesson
Categories: Suffolk

Yesterday, I posted more details about the closure of a day laborer hiring site in Huntington Station, including feedback from a representative of Family Service League, the group that has run the site for the past three years.

On May 4, the Town of Huntington announced that it would not renew its existing contract with Family Service League, citing cost and efficacy issues. The non-renewal means that the site will close in June. Click here for my original post about the decision.

In our comments section, David Sperling, Esq.—who blogs here as The Answer Man, and has a law office nearby the hiring site—criticized the closure as short-sighted.

Here’s what Sperling wrote:

The economy goes up and goes down, but day laborers are not going away (unless town enacts Arizona-style law). Far better for them to have a central meeting place, in full view of law-enforcement officials and where other organizations can provide food and services.

What’s the alternative? The day laborers are not going to some remote location on E. 5th Street to work on their resumes. They just want to work.

I’ve had my office one block away for more than 9 years and I never heard any credible complaints about crime or harassment at the hiring site. If fewer people are getting jobs, it’s not because the hiring site was a failure. It’s the economy, stupid. Shutting down the hiring site will only make things worse.

If the town is not against the hiring site in principle, perhaps some other nonprofit or religious organization could step up to the plate.

Tags : day laborers, hiring site, huntington, huntington station

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