Ruling Finds Mam'k Village Discriminated Against Hispanics

by Judy Silberstein

(November 22, 2006) Mamaroneck Village did discriminate against six unnamed Hispanic residents on the basis of their race. This is the conclusion in a 72-page ruling by federal District Judge Colleen McMahon, released Monday afternoon, November 20. The parties have 10 days to recommend remedies for the judge to order. (See: Judge McMahon's Ruling.)

“In this case, the answer to the question, ‘Were defendants’ action motivated, at least in part, by a racially discriminatory purpose?' is yes,” stated the court.

The ruling cited evidence that following the Mamaroneck Village Board’s resolution earlier this year to close a day labor hiring site in Columbus Park, police applied a “virtual zero tolerance policy” to contractors seeking to hire Latino day laborers near the park but issued no tickets to parents dropping off children at the nearby day care center and schools, even if they blocked traffic. Police were observed ticketing Latino drivers for not wearing seatbelts, but merely gesturing at white drivers to buckle up.

Further, the ruling dismissed as “specious” the defendants’ claims that stepped up law enforcement was in response to complaints of public urination and other “quality of life” infractions or to a sudden influx of laborers from outside Mamaroneck. Police records showed no citizen complaints, and the number of laborers gathering in the park were no different from previous years, according to data compiled by the onsite coordinator, Janet Rolon, and photographs taken daily by Tony Fava, an opponent of the hiring site.

Legally, what does this mean?

According to Alan Levine, attorney with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) who represented the six day laborers, “They have to stop doing what there were doing.” Specifically, he said the plaintiffs will recommend that Mamaroneck “refrain from treating day laborers differently on the basis of race.” There will probably be a call for a monitoring of law enforcement records to be sure that Mamaroneck Village is not “continuing to selectively enforce the law against the day laborers and contractors.” The judge specifically ruled out a court order requiring Mamaroneck to operate a hiring hall.

Mamaroneck Village is also subject to paying for legal fees incurred by the plaintiffs, including fees for attorneys from the PRLDEF and from the law firm Dewey, Ballantine. Mr. Levine estimated fees might run over $1 million.

Mamaroneck Village attorney Kevin Plunkett responded for his client. “We believe there was plenty of evidence for [the judge] to rule otherwise,” he said in a WNYC radio appearance on Tuesday morning. The large number of individuals gathering in the park “was something law enforcement has to pay attention to,” he said. “Racial reasons” for the police activity “couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Appeals Are Still Possible

A legal appeal is still possible, though Mamaroneck Village officials were not ready to comment on that option.

Mr. Plunkett, was somewhat more forthcoming. “Certainly, one of our options is to appeal,” he told the Gazette. “Certainly there is a legal basis, in my view, based on the court’s legal analysis to pursue an appeal,” he added.

Judge McMahon hinted at another option in a short footnote to the ruling. Given the results of the November Village Board election, in which “two perpetrators of some of the discriminatory behavior” (Trustee Joe Angilletta and trustee candidate Tony Fava) were defeated, the court might be willing “to postpone further briefings in favor of renewed discussions."

Moving Forward

Renewed discussions are something favored by the Hispanic Resource Center of Larchmont and Mamaroneck, which has supported the day laborers’ cause.

“I’m thrilled,” said John Gitlitz, president of center, when reached for comment a few hours after the court ruling was announced. “I hope it opens up space to move forward. All of us feel this should not have been a major problem.”

“Oh my God – it’s fantastic,” said Mariana Boneo, director of the center. “I’m calling the workers.”

She also stressed the importance of working as a community to solve the day labor issue. “A right has been defended, but now it’s the big work of the community to find a solution together.”

Working to find a solution was something the tri-municipal community began, seemingly in earnest, following the abrupt passage of a resolution by the Mamaroneck Village Board on January 23 to close the day labor hiring site in Columbus Park and to keep it closed unless the Town of Mamaroneck and Village of Larchmont opened their own sites by April 1. When the meetings did not result in any new sites, Mamaroneck Village ramped up police presence and ticketing in and around the park and posted signs declaring the hiring site closed.

On April 27, lawyers from the PRLDEF and Dewey Ballantine brought a federal civil rights suit against Mamaroneck Village on behalf of six unnamed Hispanic defendants, all residents of Mamaroneck Village, who claimed that the law enforcement was selective and discriminatory. Attempts to mediate the dispute failed, leading to a trial in September and culminating in this week’s ruling.

Now the judge appears to be offering Mamaroneck Village a new opportunity to settle the suit.

Front Page

Print This Page
Email this page