As Plan for D.C. Day-Laborer Center Idles, Anger Over Workers Grows

On one side of the barrier wall at the Home Depot in Northeast Washington, dozens of day laborers were sitting yesterday on a grassy hill, jumping up to beg for work every time a pickup truck approached.

On the other side were the residents who live in the modest working-class community in Ward 5. They are upset about the presence of the laborers, some saying the workers urinate on the wall, litter their streets or sleep under their porches.

"There's a lot of tension," said A.E. Wallace, a D.C. police officer who works part time providing security for the Home Depot at Rhode Island Plaza.

Wallace said he has quashed three confrontations in recent weeks between neighborhood youths in the predominantly black community and the mostly Latino day laborers, some of whom come from Maryland.

"People over here are getting tired of it. They play the race card," said Wallace, who is black. "They say, 'You wouldn't let 100 black men stand here all day.' "

Residents and laborers at Rhode Island Plaza first clashed about six months ago. Residents complained that the immigrants were increasing in numbers and becoming a nuisance.

D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) vowed in January to help the groups reach an accord. He asked businesses, including Home Depot, Giant and the shopping center developer, to establish a public-private partnership to permit the city to place a central training facility at the site.

Thomas also persuaded the council to earmark $500,000 in the 2008 fiscal budget for the structure. But no one has determined where to put one -- the Home Depot is on private property.

Responding to concerns about public safety, Thomas sought help from the city's police and Home Depot, which now contracts with off-duty officers for security. Every Friday, a task force representing several city agencies and the community meets at Thomas's office. The task force also has consulted with officials in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, where similar problems have been faced.

"The issue is ongoing," Thomas said Friday. "Bureaucracy takes time to move. Of course, I've been disappointed. I would like to get the permanent structure done now."

George Escobar, of the D.C. Office on Latino Affairs, said the meetings have been productive, although he'd like to see more dialogue with the businesses. The officials had hoped to place portable toilets at the site, but the businesses rejected that.

"We're trying to build bridges between two different communities, but it's difficult when someone has private property," Escobar said. "Every week, there seems to be breakthroughs, but then the next week you find there are still hurdles."