Council: No one else
has offered solution
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Borough Council members listened for two hours as residents and out-of-towners blasted them at a council meeting on Dec. 1 for making a decision the objectors claim will seriously affect the lives and lifestyles of day laborers who make their home in Freehold.
The council has announced that the so-called muster zone on Throckmorton Street will be closed on Jan. 1. The area is the location where day laborers, many of whom are in the United States illegally, wait to be picked up by employers.
Borough officials have said the situation at the muster zone has become unwieldy.
After the members of the public had their say, council members had their say on the matter.
"This decision was not made in a vacuum," Councilman Kevin Coyne explained.
Coyne said he had not seen any of the people who filled the council chambers at Borough Hall on Dec. 1 at any meeting over the last three years.
"We have wrestled with this issue at these meetings and at Human Relations Committee meetings constantly," said Coyne, who also sits on the Human Relations Committee. "A lot of people don’t understand Freehold. Our town is very rare. We are economically and racially diverse. You can’t find this anywhere else around here.
"This town is a treasure, a gem and very rare. I don’t think you understand. I think you think that Freehold Township is the same. It’s not. We are 2 square miles and we have 10,900 people," he said.
The councilman noted that the borough is home to many Monmouth County buildings as well as 28 houses of worship, none of which pay taxes. He said the borough has "a very fragile tax base."
"We have a budget that we simply cannot pay. We’ve added 250 Hispanic children in our schools, yet we have no new housing. This town cannot afford that," he said.
Coyne said borough officials have continually appealed to federal and state officials for assistance in handling the immigrant situation and they have been told to "go away."
"No one wants to deal with the immigrant situation or set up muster zones in their towns, but this borough did. It turned out to be a failed policy. We have vans pulling up here at night with 20 people in it. It’s the only place in central Jersey where people are dropped off like that," he said.
Coyne told the audience, "This is not a conservative council you’re talking to. We are all Democrats. We would never turn away school children in our town. We are educating them. What other town in Monmouth County has done this much?
"We recognize we need a solution," he said. "This is a town that is isolated and is the only one attempting to solve this problem in this area. Why doesn’t each town write us a check for $2.5 million a year? Why don’t all of your mayors come and meet with us and discuss the issue?
"You’re fighting the wrong enemy," Coyne said firmly. "Find 12 more muster zones and have every one of your towns take one. This is the first time anyone has challenged us on this issue. We welcome you to be a part of the solution. Asking a volunteer council to solve this town’s problems alone is not going to work."
Councilman Kevin Kane said, "Freehold Borough has always taken care of our residents. We’re taking all the heat because we are the only ones working on it. Everyone else around is sweeping it under the rug."
Council President Sharon Shutzer told the audience the muster zone was established several years ago as the result of a suggestion made by the federal government.
"It was meant to be an area for what seemed to be inevitable — the pick-up of day laborers waiting in the neighborhoods and affecting the quality of life of our residents. It was never meant to be what it has become and we have made a collective decision to end it. That decision will stand," Shutzer explained.
Shutzer said there are two ways to view life — idealistically and realistically.
"In an idealistic world, there would be coffers that overflow with money and goodness and patience. In a realistic world, this does not happen. We are unfortunately, for some, forced to be realistic so that justice triumphs as we respect and live by the law of the land," she said.
"We must never lose sight of the fact that it is not the people, but rather the actions, on which we must focus. No matter how compassionate we are, we have taken an oath that we will obey and uphold the law. The fact is that many of our day laborers are undocumented and breaking the law. There is no one who can deny that when we look the other way and ignore the illegality, we are condoning and perpetuating lawlessness," the councilwoman said.
Shutzer said the town’s resources and funds are being stretched beyond the limit.
She said her heart breaks for those people who have lived outside in the woods or in closets or attics, but her heart also "breaks for the single mother working two jobs in order to buy juice, milk and cereal for her children, as she stands behind someone in the grocery line who gets it free."
"I have read every plea from those who have written to us to keep the muster area open and turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the problem. But do you know what none of these people have offered? None have offered solutions to the problem or offered to help these people to become a productive, law-abiding, taxpaying part of our society," Shutzer said.
Councilman Robert Crawford said if anyone in the audience knew of a solution they were invited to share it with the council. He asked for the help of the Hispanic community to address the situation.
Councilman Michael Toubin remembered how his father came into the United States through Ellis Island and said he understood the plight of immigrants who come here to have a better life.
"It’s unfair to our town to have the burden of this issue. I invite all of you to come back with solutions to help us with this problem," he said.