The staid townspeople of Danbury, Conn., have diagnosed a cancer on their city's body politic. Formerly upstanding houses have degenerated, residents say, into raucous dens of illegal alcohol sales, gambling, even prostitution. "This used to be a nice place to live," laments schoolteacher Corlis Ward, who has been on the same quiet street for 30 years. "It's sad, but now I'm thinking about moving."
What's to blame for the moral rot? It's not drug dealing or gang wars. In Danbury the vice, according to local officials and longtime residents, is volleyball. Specifically, "ecuavolley," a form of the game so beloved in Ecuador that when Ecuadorians began migrating en masse to this small working-class New England city, they built backyard courts all over town, some big enough to accommodate up to 150 fans and players.
Neighbors complain that the games are overrunning residential areas--and that some organizers are running prostitution rings on the side. The Ecuadorians deny such charges, defending what they call harmless relaxation after a hard day's labor. "This is an overreaction about other issues," says Wilson Hernandez, a leader in the Ecuadorian community. "Volleyball is just the excuse."
As Hispanic immigrants spread beyond their strongholds in New York, California and Texas, summer sports--and the spectators that cluster around them--are turning up the heat on already simmering ethnic and class tensions, according to Princeton University sociologist Douglas Massey. "There are complaints in parks and fields all across America. Volleyball just happens to be the local version in Danbury," he says. "But if you know anything about Latin cultures, this is pretty innocent stuff. They bring their families. The men aren't getting totally drunk because, really, they are there for the sports."
Danbury's problems, of course, go deeper than that particular game. Over the past decade, the number of undocumented workers, many drawn to the city by landscaping or construction jobs in more affluent surrounding towns, has swelled to as much as 20% of its population. The influx, officials say, has also led to overstuffed apartment buildings, milling crowds of day laborers and legions of uninsured patients.
Volleyball, however, is the biggest sticking point. Mayor Mark Boughton tried--and failed--to get local cops deputized as federal immigration agents, but he's still urging the passage of an ordinance banning "repetitive outdoor group activities." Boughton insists that the ordinance is crafted broadly enough to prevent rowdy Wiffle-ball games, for example, and not just volleyball. "We're not singling out Ecuadorians or immigrants in general," he says. "It's the illegal immigration that is hurting our town."
I'd like to see a noise ordinance used on a group of kids who play wiffle-ball every night in the street (I wouldn't hold my breath). Comments like "it's not just volleyball" is dishonest to say the least and Boughton's next sentance exposes his true feelings.
Creating a few volleyball courts at Roger's park (that Ecuadorian will not use because of the surface and will not be maintained because the park is in such poor condition presently) or passing a noise ordinance (which no one will adhere to) will not solve the overall problem.
Legal or illegal, they'll still play volleyball. Legal or illegal, they'll still be day laborers lining up on Kennedy looking for work. The point is even if every person was legal, you'll still probably have the same problems you face now. A person could be have all the legal papers in the world, get paid under the table, and probably not own a car or drive one unregistered which means you would still contribute next to nothing in the form of taxes and still drain the resources that the Mayor and certain people complain about.
The people of Danbury have real concerns and deserve real solutions, not the current red-meat rhetoric that the local politicians are spewing out there because it's an election year (where were all the complaints last year or the year before).
We've been researching this issue for the last year and will debunk most of the misinformation thats being spread in Danbury in future posts.
04.25.22 (RADIO): WSHU Latino group call on Connecticut lawmakers to open a Danbury charter school
06.03.22 (OP-ED): KUSHNER: "Career Academy ‘a great deal for Danbury"
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.
Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.
Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
