Immigrant workers rebuild storm ravaged waterfront job center
An employment center destroyed by Hurricane Sandy was rebuilt by determined immigrants who congregate there in the hope of finding day jobs.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held March 2 to mark the triumphant reopening of Bay Parkway Community Job Center. Located next to the Caesar’s Bay Shopping Mall in Bensonhurst, the 13-year-old employment center sits on the waterfront at Gravesend Bay. The building was completely ripped up by the surges of water and the strong winds that swept through Bensonhurst during the Oct. 29 super-storm. The wind uprooted the building and tossed it several blocks away.
“The workers decided to rebuild their center out of a recycled sea iron container that will be resistant to sea water and strong winds. It is durable and moveable in case another storm hits,” said Ligia Guallpa, executive director of the Workers Justice Project http://workersjustice.org/ , the organization that sponsors the job center.