What’s going on at the New Rochelle Home Depot? Recent arrest sparks questions

It’s a common practice: day laborers, in pursuit of work, gather in the parking lots of Home Depot stores. According to Jackeline Agudelo, the practice was common at the New Rochelle Home Depot store, too — but the recent arrest of a day laborer for trespassing, and the use of security dogs to patrol a parking lot, has called the treatment of day laborers into question.

“They mostly are New Rochelle residents with families,” said Agudelo, who is the executive director of United Community Center of Westchester, Inc. (UCCW), a local organization that offers numerous health and social services, plus legal services for immigrants.

Some day laborers have gathered in the parking lot outside the Weyman Avenue store for a decade, according to Agudelo. There, they could get work through contractors and homeowners who approach the laborers for help with projects.

But, about two to three months ago, Agudelo said, the New Rochelle Home Depot “kicked everybody outside to the sidewalk,” allegedly prohibiting laborers from going inside the store or gathering outside in its parking lot. At around 10 a.m. on April 6, a Saturday, a day laborer who wasn’t aware of the recent policy change entered the store. He was subsequently arrested by New Rochelle police.

What we know about the New Rochelle Home Depot arrest

A few hours after his arrest, the day laborer called UCCW, whose members were participating that day in the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)'s regional assembly. By that afternoon, UCCW, NDLON and others mobilized to protest the day laborer's arrest outside the New Rochelle Home Depot.

"Everybody was outraged, because they know they have day laborers in their area," said Nadia Marin-Molina, co-executive director of NDLON. "They know that if you don't fight to defend the rights of the workers here, the same thing is gonna happen to workers there.

"And so people wanted to mobilize immediately.”

A New Rochelle Police Department arrest report, obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request, confirmed that a day laborer was arrested on a trespassing charge at the Home Depot. The case was scheduled for court on April 19, but the judge did not address the case that day. As of Friday, it was unclear when the case will be heard in court.

The April 6 protest included about 75 organizers from across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts, already in town for the NDLON regional assembly. In a video of the April 6 demonstration provided to The Journal News/lohud by Jorge Artiga, who was there for the protest, police can be seen watching as protesters rallied in support of the man arrested for trespassing, as well as for other day laborers.

"The police have shown time after time that they stand with the system, and not with the people," a protester can be heard speaking through a megaphone. "And they arrested a man, that went to the bathroom. They dehumanized a man that went to the bathroom."

Marin-Molina said protestors sent two messages on April 6.

“One was to the workers, that they have rights, that they can protest, that they have support from the community and that they're not alone.”

“And the other one,” Marin-Molina continued, “is to the Home Depot. That they can't discriminate against people this way. What they're doing is arbitrary.”

Organizers protested that day in response to the arrest, but tension and confusion had been building since the New Rochelle Home Depot allegedly banned day laborers. While the store’s security increased — it now patrols its parking lot with security officers and dogs — the laborers who used to gather in the lot struggle to secure work, according to Agudelo. They are able to gather on the sidewalk nearby the store, but, according to her, contractors and homeowners don’t make contact with the laborers when they gather on the sidewalk.

“It’s wintertime,” Agudelo said. “It's a bad time for them. They can’t make any money to pay their rent or feed their kids.”

“They buy things there when they get jobs to do,” Agudelo continued, “and we also are customers. I don’t think a little bit of space in a huge parking lot that they're not even using is such a big deal.”

Questions left unanswered

Agudelo has tried to meet with Home Depot managers since a day laborer ban was supposedly put in place, to no avail.

She also met with local officials to work out a solution as recently as the Wednesday before the April 6 incident.

Details about the supposed ban remain unclear. The New Rochelle store, Home Depot's store #1245, declined to comment when contacted about the arrest and ensuing protest. Upon first contact, a manager-on-duty redirected the request for comment to the Home Depot corporation. The store has not returned calls since requesting comment.

According to Agudelo, local officials were also unable to get in contact with the store.

Photographs show that Home Depot has been monitoring its parking lot with security officers and at least one patrol dog. Organizers of the April 6 protest said the store tracks laborers who aren’t allowed in the store to enforce its supposed policy.

“(Home Depot) told us they have a list. They have the workers’ names, the ones who are not supposed to go inside,” Marin-Molina said. “And we asked, what gets them on that list? What did they do in order to deserve to be banned from Home Depot?

“Nobody had an answer,” Marin-Molina continued. “There's no answer from the security or from police. There’s no answer.”

Story continues after gallery.

Home Depot issues statements

The Home Depot corporation issued the following statement by email after being contacted about the arrest:

“Like many businesses in the community, we have a non-solicitation policy at our stores. The safety of our associates and customers is our top priority, and we prohibit people from loitering, and in some instances, we post signs alerting customers about our policy. We also cooperate with local law enforcement, who takes the lead in addressing trespassing issues on our property.”

In a follow up email, Beth Marlowe, a spokesperson for the Home Depot corporation, provided the following statement:

"I can tell you that there may be specific cases where after multiple incidents we partner with law enforcement to trespass an individual."

The corporation issued the following response to another reporter's questions:

“Following up about your question about ‘banning day laborers from entering the store.’ That’s not correct. There may be specific cases where after multiple incidents we partner with law enforcement to trespass an individual.”

As of Friday, the New Rochelle Police Department has not returned requests for comment.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: New Rochelle NY Home Depot day laborer's arrest sparks questions