Passaic, NJ – Police in Passaic are cracking down on day laborers who solicit work anywhere but at a city-sanctioned hiring center.
The police held a meeting on Monday to warn the day laborers that anyone found approaching cars to solicit work outside the center’s jurisdiction will be ticketed.
They say local residences have been complaining that the large groups of workers who gather daily near Passaic’s Home Depot are blocking streets, littering, and bothering residents.
Several day laborers told The Herald News of West Paterson that they need to wait on sidewalks because contractors don’t pick them up at the center.
The center was built with city support, although the laborers pay for its operation. It was touted as the first of its kind in New Jersey when it opened in Jan. 2007.