Day Laborers Bring Business For Some; Others Say They Drive Customers Away

While one business owner in Brewster says he wants village officials to clear Main Street of the day laborers waiting for work, some others don't seem to mind. The mayor says village officials' hands are tied. The police chief says the men aren't causing issues for his department. And the day laborers—they say they just want jobs. In this two-day series, Patch takes a look at some of the issues with the day laborers downtown.

The dozens of day laborers who wait for work on Main Street in Brewster draw different reactions from business owners.

From  to , opinions on the impact of day laborers vary down Main Street. A manager at the latter says that their presence adds to business, while the owner of Bob's says day laborers are simply part of Brewster's population. On the other end of the spectrum is Bob Dumont, founder of . 

Dumont aired his grievances at a last month, complaining that the who frequently wait for work in front of Maximum Deli are hurting his efforts to grow the local side of his business.

The discussion lasted for nearly a half hour, with Dumont insisting that there must be some way to solve his problem. He pointed the finger at landlords for allowing laborers to stand on their property and “just hang out.” He also questioned what village officials have done to solve the problem.

“If they were to put up the most hideous-looking sign that doesn’t conform to town standards, somebody’s there,” Dumont said, as officials rattled off the legal issues associated with the village’s involvement and pointed to recent lawsuits in nearby municipalities. “This is a sign. This is an ugly sign. Granted, it’s in the form of 40 people, but it’s a sign that needs to come down and needs to move along.”

Dumont's company, a dealer of designers such as Waterford and Vera Wang, began on the Internet in 2002. After taking up residence in his first Main Street location in 2007, Dumont moved down the street in 2009. He said he knew what he was "up against" when he changed storefronts.

“To me, this is like beach-front property,” he told Patch in a follow-up interview. “There are only so many train towns and main streets that exist in the world.”

Dumont would not share his business numbers on in-person transactions. He said he has heard people talk about the desire to avoid day-laborers “hundreds of times,” but never directly about his store.

“If a woman with cash in her pocket comes into my store and sees 50 guys or drives by … it doesn’t matter if those guys are white, brown, green or yellow, she’s not stopping,” he said at the meeting.

One proprietor, whose establishment sits to the east of The Bowl Company, agreed with Dumont. As immigrants themselves, one of these owners said the day laborers’ presence sometimes makes crossing the street a tense experience.

“[In other places] they have organization,” one of the owners, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “They are not hanging outside.”

Thomas Sprague, owner of Bob's, could see Dumont’s point but said the same does not apply to him.

“Maybe 10 years ago,” Sprague said. “It’s who lives here now."

Over the last decade, the Hispanic and Latino population in Brewster has grown from 32 to 56 percent, according to  from U.S. Census Bureau.

Some businesses rely on the strong day-laborer presence. A supervisor at Maximum Deli said the workers bring in business and management does not mind if they hang out in front of the store.

“If they make money, it’s good for them [the business], too,” Jaemie Caban, the Brewster Police Department’s community affairs officer, translated during a Patch interview.

The fact that the men are just “there to work” reinforces the management’s stance.

“They’re not causing any problems,” the supervisor, who would not give a name, said.

The person did not know of any occasion where Dumont approached management with his complaints. Dumont told Patch he hoped to "work with” the people he has issues with before filing any sort of formal complaint with the village.