Beginning sometime last year, Freeport’s secretive mayor, William F. Glacken and his Board of Trustees worked tirelessly to keep the public in the dark about the impending opening of a day laborer shape up site on Sunrise Highway, going so far as to gag the workers representatives with the threat to end to project if they spoke about it. Glacken’s secret policy backfired this past Monday night, when residents read about the shape up site on FreeportNYNews.com, the same place Newsday’s reporter Bart Jones obtained much of his Freeport information. Before Newsday published their August 13th story about the day laborer situation in Freeport, Jones told this reporter that Glacken wanted Newsday to keep the story quiet until after the site opened.

The word was out. Supporters and opponents of the day laborer shape up site were in attendance in Freeport Village Hall on Monday night, August 19th.

Longtime resident Alan Jay expressed the frustration of this difficult issue. He told the Board: “On one hand I am sympathetic with people who want to do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. I have more respect for this type of immigrant than those who are able bodied parasites or criminals who come here only to bleed America or subvert her ideals. On the other hand, we are a nation of laws. Presuming that these day laborers have legitimately arrived, how can government, at all levels cooperate with a tax supported charity, in the provision of facilities, where employers and employees mostly operate sub rosa, or off the books? Laws that are unevenly applied and enforced, invite scorn and contempt.”

Lifelong Freeport resident, Gabe Razzano, was furious with Mayor Glacken for not making any effort to return his phone calls for over six months. He asked Glacken, “Will the village and the Board of Trustees respond to my phone calls or letters in the future?”

Glacken wisecracked, “Is this a Q&A? Is that what’s going on here?

Mr. Razzano answered, “I would just like some answers.”

Glacken said, “You’ve spoken to my office and to my staff.”

Mr. Razzano expressed the frustration of many over the years, as Glacken appears to only meet and return calls to the chosen few who support him, “They told me you would call me back. It’s been over six months. I don’t get a return phone call, Your Honor? For six weeks Senator Fuschillo’s office attempted to get you on my behalf. I never got a return phone call. Am I not a resident? I pay taxes in this village. I stand up for this village and I feel we’ve been railroaded. With all the attempts I’ve made to get in touch with this village to find out the status of this, I was completely ignored.”

Glacken said, “I don’t think it is a wasted effort. The messages you left indicated you were opposed to the work site... You indicated your views... These are public meetings and you are free to express your views at that time. And you didn’t.”

Mr. Razzano was furious. He told Glacken and the Board, “The reason I didn’t is because nobody returned my calls and I thought it was dead in the water. In other towns they post notices on the street because they want public input. They don’t want to railroad their citizens.” 

Throughout the evening, Glacken showed his contempt for those who did not agree with his position by interrupting them and allowing his supporters in the audience to call out and interrupt. When a supporter approached the microphone, Glacken remained quiet, chastising anyone who took exception to that speaker’s comets.

Your reporter, who is also a resident of Freeport, was next to the microphone. During your reporter’s questioning Glacken continually interrupted, attempting to divert the conversation and turn the session into a circus. Those portions have been edited out. The Q&A speaks for itself.

(To see the complete conversation, minus the Glacken obfuscation, click here).

MR. LILKER:     Your Honor, it would appear that you had every opportunity to advise the community about the day laborer site and every opportunity that you and the Board of Trustees had, you did not do it.

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      That’s your opinion. That’s incorrect. These decisions were made at public meetings... They were done in an open forum. For you to say anything to the contrary is untrue.

 

MR. LILKER:     Well, when did you advise them? Why don’t you tell us?

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      It was public knowledge. We have open meetings every week, practically.

 

MR. LILKER:     When did you put it in the Freeport News Letter that the village was taking $20,000 dollars of Freeport Community Development Funds and earmarking them for that site? When did you advise the community of that? Did you do that in your Freeport Report?

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      After there was a hearing on various applications.

 

(Catholic Charities application was never spoken about or made public and the village’s monthly newsletter was silent).

 

MR. LILKER:     What did you do to advise the community that you had done this?

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      (no answer)

 

MR. LILKER:     I want to know, number one. What is the village doing to make sure that the contractors that hire these employees are licensed contractors? Number two -- That the contractors that hire these employees collect social security, pay workman's comp, pay health benefits. I want to know what this administration is doing to make sure that when one of these day workers get hired, that we know where they go, because I asked Catholic Charities what happens to a day worker who is out on a job and doesn’t come back. Do you know where they went? They said, that is not our responsibility.

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      And it’s not.

 

MR. LILKER:     I want to know what you’re doing to make sure that taxes are paid, that contractors are licensed and that the workers are legal and if they’re not legal, what you are doing to get the INS and whoever is needed to help them become legal. And if you’re not willing to do that, I have no more questions.

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      It is the responsibility of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to keep track of people who come into this country. That is not a village responsibility. It is not a village function.

 

MR. LILKER:     Have you asked them for their help?

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      It is their responsibility. Why would I ask them for their help?

 

MR. LILKER:     Because we need help sometimes. What are you doing about the taxes?

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      That is the responsibility of the Internal Revenue Service, the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance.

 

MR. LILKER:     Have you asked for their help?

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      I’ve already answered your question.

 

MR. LILKER:     You didn’t ask for their help, either?

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      It’s not my responsibility to be a tax collector for the IRS. It is not my responsibility to be an immigration official. My only responsibility is to run this town [village]... Mr. Lilker, the village’s concern was one of traffic decongestion and  --unintelligible --. It is not a taxation issue. It is not a question of immigration.

Freeport resident and business owner Peter Norris, a first time visitor to a village board meeting, was interrupted and belittled by the Mayor as he tried to make his points. When Mr. Norris questioned the propriety of the village donating to a subsidiary of the Catholic Church, Glacken left many members of the audience in the fog, as he compared the village’s contribution to Catholic Charities with the Popes appearance in Yankee Stadium.

MR. NORRIS:     I’m a business owner and property owner of Freeport. By law I’m required to collect workman’s comp, payroll tax and unemployment tax. All of you here have taken an Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution and the law of the land. Isn’t that right?

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      Mr. Norris, I’m going to cut you short.

 

MR. NORRIS:     Why would you want to do that?

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      Because basically you are asking a similar question to what Mr. Lilker is asking and my response to you is when you don’t obey the law. If you don’t properly withhold taxes, does the Mayor’s office come after you or does the State Dept. of Taxation and Finance and the IRS come after you? ... What we are talking about here ... and incidentally I do agree, if you have a properly organized system of labor the people who are performing the work should pay taxes and they should pay it on a withholding basis, just as any other employee who is that type --.

 

MR. NORRIS:     I agree, but my question to you is, did you take an oath of office to uphold the laws of the land?

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      Yes I did. But I am not the enforcement agent.

 

MR. NORRIS:     ... You are going to be in violation of that oath, because now you are aiding and abetting in an operation that has the possibility of these people not paying taxes. That’s a problem that I have. You were elected by the people of this village to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land. If you allow this to go through, you are in violation and you are aiding and abetting --unintelligible--. These people can’t be traced. The contractors can’t be traced. This whole thing stinks. You are on village property.

 

MAYOR GLACKEN:      We are going to be leasing. They will be paying money to the village for the use of the actual pad on the space.

Prior to this meeting, it was understood that the village would be leasing the parking lot to Catholic Charities for the day laborer shape up site. During this meeting, Village Attorney Edwards explained that the Village would be collecting $250.00 per month, just for the space the trailer would occupying, leaving the village with the responsibility of the liability for any accidents in the rest of the parking lot. The village will also be responsible for maintaining the parking lot, the plowing of snow, the landscaping services and the garbage pickup and cleanup. It would appear that the $250.00 does not cover this and neither the Mayor, nor the Board, nor the Village Attorney made any attempt to explain this.

Life long resident and Glacken supporter, Ms. Georgia Prunty was next up at the microphone and read from a prepared statement:

MS. PRUNTY:     This is about the rule of law... I have had several conversations with a trustee sitting up there right now. This trustee, several months ago, looked me straight in the eye and said to me, “Georgia, if this happens, it will have to happen on church owned property and with church money.”

 

If the Catholic Church had wished to open an illegal hiring center on non-Freeport property with their own money, at least it would have taken that embarrassment out of the sight of Freeporters and thousands of people who pass by the Dunkin Donuts every day.

 

Any illegal to be injured on this property, Freeport could be subjected to a lawsuit.

 

With the $20,000 Federal Grant, American hard earned taxpayer money is now involved... It will be used to aid and abet illegal activity and tax evasion and that is wrong.

 

According to the statement by Catholic Charities, “This proposed hiring center is open to all members of the community. American citizens and legal resident aliens already have hiring centers. They are known as temporary agencies, job searches and the Department of Labor. Because they have the legal right to work in this country, American Citizens and legal resident aliens share the responsibilities of paying all the taxes that come with this opportunity. Therefore, it is obvious that this center is really being put in place to circumvent the law, citizenship privileges and responsibilities in favor of those who are here illegally, without the right, privileges and responsibility of those who are here legally. This administration is aiding and abetting illegal aliens and is in violation of section 1324 of Federal US Code, Immigration Law.

 

Therefore, I put this administration on notice that you are in violation of Federal Law if you proceed with the opening of this hiring center.

 

To the Catholic Church, who is supposed to represent the teachings of the Holy Bible, in the Book of Romans, chapter 13, it says, “Obey the law of the land and pay your taxes!”

You still have a chance to return the $20,000 to the people of Freeport. And you still have a chance to tell Catholic Charities, if you want to set this up, then you find a place and you do it. But don’t involve Freeport.

 

And God Bless America.

Ms. Liza Levin, another first time attendee at a village board meeting, shared with the Board and the public her views about the behavior of some of the day workers that hang around Dunkin Donuts waiting for work:

            MS. LEVIN:      I’m a retired teacher living in Freeport. One of the pleasures that I really used to enjoy was taking the LI Railroad into Manhattan. I could walk to the station. Do you know how difficult it was for me once I reached Dunkin Donuts? The catcalls from the day laborers, the whistles, it was horrible. I stopped walking into Freeport. Perhaps you should think about adding the image of the illegal immigrant to your sign as you come up the Meadowbrook [Parkway]. Along with fish and boats, the image of the illegal immigrant. I wonder what other third world country will be arriving on our shores. Will there be the Jihad, the Afghans or Pakistanis? Who knows what group will be next?

Supporters of the project were not as vocal or numerous as the opposition. Long time Freeport resident, Attorney Alvin Dorfman told the Board: “I want to commend the Mayor, the members of the Board and the Village Counsel. I want to commend Catholic Charities for having the foresight, the intelligence and the compassion to do the right thing in the face of this kind of opposition.”

Freeport resident, Douglas Mayers, praised the Board, telling them that he was an immigrant and he was in favor of the project and that all immigrants should be allowed to work no matter what their status.

Mayor Glacken ignored Mr. Mayer’s continuous outbursts from the audience.           

The last supporter to speak was Freeporter, Marianala Feliz Jordan. Ms. Jordan was herself at one time an illegal immigrant. After working on the campaign of Nassau County Executive, Tom Suozzi, she was appointed as the top Latino in his administration.

MS. JORDAN:          I want to take a moment to enlighten you on a couple of the issues that affect this very complicated problem. It is very painful to all of the different sides. Some people are coming here to look for work and yes, a lot of them are here illegally, but a lot of them are here legally. A lot of them have been granted temporary status. A lot of them have tax ID numbers. They are paying taxes, with the hope, that one-day when the reformation of immigration laws happens, that maybe they will have the opportunity to contribute. I have to commend you and the Board, because this is a very difficult issue. Nassau County is one of the oldest suburban communities in the United States. We are facing issues that no other county and many other villages haven’t faced before. So we are figuring it out as we go along and it’s hard.

The tax, to which Ms. Jordan and other day laborer supporters refer, is sales tax. Their argument is that every time a day laborer goes to the store and makes a purchase, they are paying taxes. Other communities all over America are trying to deal with the issues posed by the day laborers.

None of the workers or their representative spoke.