ASK THE TIMES: What is City’s Plan on Day Laborers?
By STEPHEN SIEGEL
Falls Church Times Staff
August 20, 2012
Times reader Mel Watson asked August 18 if the City has “any plan for dealing with the increasing number of those looking for day work who assemble on Broad Street in front of the U-Haul and Staples stores?”
The short answer is that the day laborers are legally allowed to congregate on any public spaces, including the sidewalk, as long as they don’t harass people or block access.
“Under federal Constitutional law, the City cannot enact or enforce no-loitering laws that prohibit standing on a public sidewalk or right of way,” said City Spokeswoman Susan Finarelli. “If anyone is breaking existing laws relating to obstructing passages or public intoxication, for example, they could face charges.”
However, the laborers frequently loiter on private property as well — primarily the U-Haul property, but also the parking lot in front of the Staples store; that property is owned by the big mall operator Federal Realty Investment Trust.
Falls Church City Police told the Times they won’t enforce trespassing laws against day laborers just on sight; the business must call police first. Officials say 11 laborers have been “banned” from various properties by police in the last two years. Violating a banning order would lead to more severe sanctions. “If the subject returns after they have been banned, they are then subject to arrest,” Ms. Finarelli said.
Some of the businesses have been aggressive in trying to stop the day laborers from loitering on or in front of their properties. A U-Haul employee told a reporter they added anti-loitering signs, have called police, and also have cameras monitoring their parking lot. But he said it’s a constant problem there and at other U-Haul locations as well, including one in Bailey’s Crossroads.
Asked if Federal Realty had a policy or statement on the day laborers, Andrea Simpson, a Boston-based spokeswoman for the company, promised to inquire for the Times. A day later, she kindly wrote via email that “I wanted to check in to let you know that I have not forgotten you.” That was on March 7. Ms. Simpson has not returned repeated phone and email messages since then.
Opinions on the day laborers are mixed. Many have asked if their loitering is legal. Some say they don’t have a problem with them being there and looking for work. Others object and assume at least some are illegally in the country. Still others suggest their behavior has been inappropriate and harrassing, such as a person who posted a comment on the same Times story as Mr. Watson, but without giving a name or a real email address.
For its part, the city says it has received no complaints about day laborer harrassment or sidewalk obstruction.
By Stephen Siegel
August 20, 2012
Mr. Siegel – - thanks for picking up on this and writing this article….I was curious…and thought that whatever is allowed or prohibited needs to be settled on before the number of those lookiing for work possibly increases…and Falls Church winds up with a control problem like the Town of Herndon and other locations did and probably still face. I have mixed views. I know Falls Church City may not be comparable to Herndon in many respects, but the issue that other jurisdictions face could be similar in proportion to the size and demographics of Falls Church.
You’re welcome, Mr. Watson. Thank you for your question and for reading the Times.
There must be demand for their services or they wouldn’t keep showing up. For those who are out of work, offering services as day laborers is preferable to panhandling. As long as the rights of private property owners are being honored, I hope the City can continue to provide an acceptable place where those who need day labor can get connected with those who are willing to provide it.
The comment “the city says it has received no complaints about day laborer harrassment or sidewalk obstruction” is not true, I have written to the City several times expressing my objection to the sidewalk obstruction. The day laborers are basically there to solicit Uhaul’s patrons so shouldn’t Uhaul be required to provide a congregation area on their property in the back of their building? Why should the City allocate its public sidewalks for Uhaul’s subcontractors. It’s not comfortable to walk though a group of men loitering on the public sidewalks. I used to walk up to the Starbucks in that shopping area and get a few things from Giant but no more, I walk to the Starbucks further east on Broad now.
I doubt UHaul would call those folks subcontractors.
The folks that gather get work from time to time, that’s why they hang out. Same with Home Depot at 7 Corners. I see folks get selected and jump in trucks at Home Depot pretty regularly.
I think the City needs to start getting its arms around this….whatever it decides. While the number of folks does not seem to be increasing significantly, it could. The longer the City and local businesses wait to figure out what the right enforcement and balance are – - the harder it will be to take action. I am not an expert on what happened in Herndon, but I think they waited too long to act and the problem became a bigger problem……and bigger problems are always harder to solve. As other jurisdictions take action, more of these folks could drift toward this City….who knows.
The poor drycleaner that I do business with is having to deal with a problem that she claims is growing and impacting her business, for example.
I’m always amazed at how these guys run right up to cars turning into the U-Haul parking lot. Who is stupid enough to pick them up when they act like that? A previous article on this topic mentioned that someone who had used these “movers” ended up having a ton of jewelry stolen.
There’s an easy way to solve this problem. Put a Immigration and Customs Enforcement SUV right there. They’d all scatter immediately.
We appreciate the information given and really do care about the struggles these day laborers have in finding work. However, we are more concerned about the teenagers in our community who must endure endless ‘cat calls’ while walking to and from the high school on Broad Street. We see this every day. It’s a dangerous situation. The ABC store is also of great concern as students ‘hire’ laborers to buy alcohol for them. Have you ever walked by the coffee place there on a Friday afternoon? Check it out parents of teens…it’s scary!