The Ecuadorian consulate general, Jorge López Amaya, promised a delegation of Ecuadorian workers and small business owners from the Willets Point Defense Committee (WPDC) that he would send Mayor Bloomberg a letter urging him to reconsider the circumstances of Willets Point and find another solution to help the workers of the neighborhood.
Marcos Neira, president of the WPDC, delivered a letter yesterday to Amaya. The letter was addressed to the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, and explains the city's plans to redevelop the industrial zone of Willets Point. Two thousand Latinos – more than half of them Ecuadorian – would be displaced without fair compensation, in a way that the WPDC calls "racist and discriminatory."
Sergio Aguirre, coordinator for the WPDC, explained to the consul that the majority of the 250 small businesses in Willets Point – most of them auto body shops – were granted $3 million to help them relocate individually (a maximum of $4,000 per business), "but thousands of workers were left out of the negotiations."
"When we tried to contact the mayor directly, he refused to see us, claiming that it was illegal to negotiate with the tenants because that would infringe on the rights of the landlords," said Aguirre.
Aguirre explained that when the City Council approved the redevelopment plan for Willets Point on Nov.13, 2008, it did not figure out a way to compensate the workers for their loss of employment; the Council merely came up with a plan to retrain the workers in other industries, such as hospitality, restaurant management, and cleaning, to fill the new jobs that would be created in the area.
"The training would take place at LaGuardia Community College, but they humiliated us again. The only thing they offered were English classes and the majority of the students are not from Willets Point," said Aguirre.
The WPDC also complained about the last public hearing on May 2, 2011, whose goal was to approve use of the eminent domain law. The workers were formally invited with bilingual letters, but at the hearing they were not provided with interpretation services; afterward, the group of workers filed a lawsuit in New York's Supreme Court for a violation of their civil and commercial rights.
The WPDC is demanding to be relocated to Maspeth, a neighborhood in Queens located 10 minutes from Willets Point. The WPDC foresees individual relocation leading to bankruptcy for small businesses. The group is also pushing for economic compensation for the workers and small business owners for loss of employment.
Consul López Amaya did not promise to deliver the letter to President Correa, but he promised to look into the case and to discuss it with City Councilmember Julissa Ferreras, and to send a message to the mayor asking him to determine a solution that will not harm the workers.
"I promise to send a letter to the mayor to urge him to rethink the situation," said López Amaya, who advised those affected by the redevelopment of Willets Point to put more pressure on the mayor through media outlets so that their demands will be met.
Also representing the WPDC during López Amaya's speech were Tirso Mier, owner of an auto body and paint shop; Tatiana Bejar, consultant for the group; Fresia Ortega, owner of a carwashing business, and Jaime Gordillo, whose business installs glass in vehicles.
The NYC Economic Development Corporation defended its redevelopment plan by assuring that the construction of a hotel and a convention center, business venues, and housing units will create 5,300 permanent jobs and 18,000 construction jobs, and will have an economic impact of $25 million over the next 30 years.
