Carrboro residents are looking to combat loitering at a street corner in the middle of town. Police have responded to multiple calls at the spot, and are looking to crack down on harassment and other law-breaking.
Carrboro Police have been called a total of 434 times regarding disturbances on the corner of Davie and Jones Ferry Roads.
Day laborers often wait at this corner to find work, but Carrboro Police Chief Walter Horton says others often loiter there and cause problems.
“Disturbances, fightings, disorderly conduct, drunk, disruptive… just criminal behavior and just bad behavior in general.”
Horton presented these facts to the Board of Aldermen last Tuesday and says he has even seen instances of harassment there. Particularly one in which men made obscene comments to a woman who walked by.
“She said they did say she looked good, and made some unfriendly comments to her. She felt uncomfortable.”
Although Horton says there have been very few calls or reports similar to this, Alderwoman Jacquie Gist says the town needs to do something to protect people from harassment, especially women.
“It is hate speech and it is a threat. ‘Hey baby, want some of this?’ is not a, ‘Let me take you to ACME for dinner.’”
Horton drafted two possible options for signs to be placed at the corner. It would notify those who walk by in English and Spanish that there would be legal repercussions for loitering or harassment.
Horton also says an option would be providing information about El Centro Hispano on a sign.
“The main difference is just, not promoting the business of El Centro, but trying to get people to know that that’s a source where they can go seek employment other than the corner.”
El Centro created the Center for Education and Leadership in 2015 to give laborers a resource and alternative place to go to find work. But many of the workers opt not to use the services, according to CEL coordinator Jazmin Mendoza Sosa.
“Unfortunately, many of them have chosen not to use the service for job seeking, but there’s other services that we provide to the workers, which is mainly advocacy when they go to the corner, they don’t get paid, they usually go to the CEL after hours for me to call the employer and advocate for them.”
Horton says no matter what they do, they need to make choices that will help, and not discriminate against Carrboro’s residents. The town adopted an anti-lingering ordinance in 2007, but it was overturned in 2011 because groups, organizations and leaders worried that it hurt residents more than helped them.
“To be honest, we don’t have any other issues like this around town. This is very unique. We get disturbances; of course we get disturbance calls and loitering calls in various places, but not in this volume.”
The board unanimously agreed to install signage on the corner, warning about loitering and harassment. The board also unanimously agreed to form a public awareness campaign with Carrboro, Chapel Hill and the university to end verbal harassment.
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