During recent months, the NYPD has been arresting people for loitering in the streets in Flushing. This is worrying many Chinese who are accustomed to seeking temporary jobs at Flashing’s 40th Road.
Flushing’s 40th Road is known to many Chinese in the construction industry as the “Flea Market of Workers.” The recent arrests have made day laborers feel quite helpless. One said, “Finding a job is already difficult; now we have to worry about being sent to prison.”
A police officer carrying out an arrest told this reporter that the Police Department started to crack down on 40th Road laborers once they received complaints from residents.
Many Chinese day laborers gather on the streets early in the morning. Many pick-up vans for the workers and buses to the casinos park on the street, creating a traffic jam on 40th Road, according to police. The workers walk in the street, negotiating with prospective employees who sit in their cars; the situation makes accidents likely. The police suggest that day laborers meet their employers at a designated time and place, and stop loitering in the streets in groups.
Yesterday morning at 7 a.m., Wang Bao-Li, originally from Manchuria, carried his bag and walked between 40th Road and Roosevelt Avenue, but he soon discovered the streets were different from before: not a single worker was to be seen.
Wang already heard that the police has been arresting workers on 40th Road; therefore, he intentionally put on clean clothes and left his dirty work clothes in his bag. During that freezing morning, Wang was looking for any construction company van, as well as looking around to avoid the police.
Ho De-Chuan, also from Manchuria, has several friends who already were arrested. He, too, was afraid of the same fate, but he still had to be at 40th Road looking for work. “I am worried and scared, but if we don’t find jobs, we will not have anything to eat. What exactly can we do?” he asked.
In Flushing and in Manhattan’s Chinatown, there are several locations that, over the past 10 years, have become known as “the Human Resource Center” to Chinese construction workers. Experienced employers would know to find day laborers at these locations. One corner of 40th Road is especially well-known. Even during the winter, there are 20 to 30 of employers; during the peak summer season there are even up to 40 or 50 people.
Fuzhouese immigrants gather on the corner of 40th Road and Main Street, and Manchurian immigrants gather on the block of Main Street between 40th Road and Roosevelt Ave. It is quite a scene every morning. Additionally, there are also workers waiting in front of the Queens Library and the pharmacy across from the East Dynasty Restaurant.
However, these two corners have not escaped police raids. One worker said that during the past two months, the police arrested people by blocking Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue off with police cars, trapping Chinese day laborers waiting there.
Although construction work is menial labor, the benefits are not bad. According to the workers, even if one does not have construction experience, one can still earn about $70 to $80 per day. Those who have experience as electricians or similar fields can earn $100 or more per day. Since these wages have not really changed over the past five years, employers like to come to “the Flea Market of Workers” to find day laborers.
The police say they understand how day laborers feel about looking for jobs, but that the police, once they receive complaints, must respond, especially during this time of anti-terrorism. The police only need to see four people gathered on the street to fine them. However, since many day laborers do not have identification, the police must arrest them for illegal assembly and inappropriate behavior.
