Alternate Site for Day-Labor Facility? Residents, Businesses Opposed to Fayette Avenue

by Aine Santry

(July 1, 2004) There is no final decision on an official day laborer site in the Village of Mamaroneck, Mayor Phil Trifiletti announced at a meeting on Monday, June 28. A village-owned parcel of land at Fayette Avenue is under consideration, and the board is partnering with the Hispanic Resource Center to find the best location, the mayor confirmed. Harold Lasso from the Hispanic Resource Center was at the meeting to present preliminary ideas for a proposed shelter. (See: Official Day Labor Site in the Works)

Attending the meeting were a number of residents from nearby Harmon Drive, Revere Road and the surrounding area, and business owners from Fayette Avenue, who all voiced opposition to the Fayette Avenue location.

Fayette Avenue is a short, one-way street that empties onto the corner of Harmon Drive and Rockland Avenue. While it is in an industrial zone, it is just a couple of blocks away from residential areas.

Most speakers, including this reporter, were in support of expanded facilities for the many laborers who congregate in an unofficial location at Columbus Park across from the Mamaroneck train station as they wait for potential employers to drive up with offers of jobs for the day. But they were adamantly opposed to the Fayette Avenue site because of traffic and safety concerns, as well as concerns about overcrowding and lack of parking for existing businesses.

The Harmon Drive neighbors objected to the proposed site because it would attract truck traffic to their narrow street, which is supposed to be off-limits to trucks. They noted that trucks routinely disregard the "no through-traffic" signs and the posted speed limit. They also described previous traffic incidents, including a fatal car accident and other significant physical and property damage.

Another concern was for the children who walk near the proposed site on the way to school during hours when the facility would be busiest (7 am to 10 am). Since Fayette Avenue is approximately equidistant between Larchmont and Mamaroneck, the residents expected an increase in pedestrians making their way from the Larchmont train station to the facility. Speakers indicated that the increased vehicular and pedestrian traffic along Harmon Drive during the hours children are walking to school and the residents are going to work would be a "recipe for disaster."

Representatives from Westchester Squash, a sports facility on Fayette Avenue across from the proposed day-worker site, indicated that they needed the designated parcel for parking. They said their business would likely go-under if the Fayette Avenue site, which they now use for parking, were used for the day-workers. There were also objections to bringing portable toilets for the workers to an area prone to flooding.

The residents offered alternative site suggestions, including:

1. Keeping the facility in Columbus Park, the traditional spot for generations;
   
   
2. Using an existing Town or Village of Mamaroneck facility that is not busy from 7 to 10 am, when most of the day labor activity occurs. One possibility was the parking area near the Emelin Theatre and across from the police station.
   
   
3. Contacting New York State agencies to see if land near I-95 or the Hutchinson River Parkway might be available. These spots would be convenient for employers and out of the way of residences.

Separately, some of the board members voiced concern that the new site (whether located at Fayette Avenue or elsewhere) would be patronized by non-Village residents. They stressed that the goal of the new site was to assist Village residents only.

Mayor Trifiletti noted that this is only the first meeting on the topic. He also said the board will be reaching out to the Town of Mamaroneck and the Village of Larchmont to consider sites in their areas that may be appropriate for a facility.

The next board meeting is on July 20. For news of future meetings, check the website or the LMC-TV community bulletin board, or contact one of the residents who agreed to serve as liaisons to the board.

Aine Santry lives on Harmon Drive and has agreed to be a liaison between her neighborhood and the Village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees.