I live in Suffolk. In reading Newsday(the major newspaper for Long Island), it appears that the protest against the ordinance(I was at the protest, it certainly grabbed some peoples’ attention), in combination with the looming threat of litigation, has made John Venditto, the town supervisor, open to arranging for a designated work pick-up spot for the day laborers.

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by VivirLatino: Waving, Standing, Breathing While Latino In Long Island, NY Dangerous http://bit.ly/5gAs0o...

First I didn’t use the word Hispanic and that was deliberate.

Second, If you have been on Forest Ave in Oyster Bay, have you seen this “alleged” peeing in the street?

Third your other comment was deleted because of language.

Have a happy new year!

Maegan,

I am sure that you can agree with me that having people approaching vehicles in a tight street with oncoming traffic is a danger not only to the cars driving by but to the people looking for work as well.
I remember several years ago helping out a family member with a job, we went to Forest Ave to seek extra help and I recollect a sizeable group approach our vehicle. I recall cars having to maneuver at times around the group. I never thought anything about it then but I now see the risk that this presents.
I don’t agree with some of the language used in the ordinance, but I believe (if it hasn’t happened yet) that someone will get hurt if nothing is done. Let us not wait till that happens for the community to address the situation.
I do not believe the purpose of this ordinance is to discriminate against waving, standing, breathing while Latino in Long Island; I believe this law addresses the safety concerns of all parties.

I guess only immigrants drink beer and pee huh?

Rob,

Do you think the ordinance should be enforced even if it is unconstitutional?

Also, do you think there should be a designated pick-up place for day laborers in Oyster Bay?

Rob–make up your mind: are these people peeing on public or private property? Or are they standing on public property and peeing into private land?

Yes, an alternative would make the most sense–no more safety problems and no more profiling issues. That is what the town of Huntington did.(day-laborer pick up site).

La Macha: Long Island is, on the whole, mostly suburbs. As a result, I would venture that most dog owners on Long Island have their dogs pee on their own property.

But, nonetheless, good point; humans and dogs public urination are not treated equally. Also might have something to do with how many people treat their dogs(hugs and kisses) better than their own children.

La Macha,
My comments are pretty clear: the NYT reported complaints of public urination (i.e., peeing in public) on private property. I never witnessed the urination but smelled it in the day laborer area. I’m not sure why you choose to compare human actions to dog actions–are you comparing the day laborers to man’s best friend?

Are we only going to charge Latino day laborers for a permit cuz I read a report that showed that given the economy many non-Latinos are also doing day labor work. At but no one cares if white people stand around. Sorry I forgot.

Rob,

My comments are pretty clear. Please re-read them.

Also, if you only smelled the pee, I’m wondering how you know that it is the day laborers that created the smell? Maybe they are standing in a pee smelling area because they figure it is the one place where they will be left alone. Who on earth would get mad at a person standing in a place that reeks of urine?

I think it matters; especially if the ordinance has the effect of targeting people solely for “standing while Latino”.

Oh, but the documented part. It matters only insofar as discerning a reason as to WHY the ordinance was made. For example, is the purpose behind it to target “latino laborers who are undocumented, or just laborers regardless of their immigration status.” Of course, there is no way, outside of asking the workers, to determine their documented status. But knowing the documented status would nonetheless be interesting, like giving us a basis as to the economic impact of documented immigrants as to undocumented. (It would also give the anti-immigrant movement more firepower.)

It’s would also be interesting, from the recession economic standpoint, to see who(documented, undocumented, latino, non-latino), are turning to the unstable day laborer market.

If I am not making too much sense, I apologize; I’m on vacation for New Years.

Enjoy the New Years and may your blog flourish in 2010!

La Macha,
I do not know if the day labor urination is absolutely true; however, the public complaints of day laborer urination and my familiarity with that area make it probably true.
Besides your focus on the urination, will you argue that the sidewalk congestion and traffic safety concerns are illusory too?

[...] amazing to me really how visible day laborers are when they are allegedly peeing and drinking on “white streets” but in POC/immigrant neighborhoods, their not having a home is suddenly invisible. Tags: Day [...]