By Scott Brinton and Hector Flores
No problem, says Merrick civic activist Bob Young, except that Sosa and his friends, none of whom would agree to be interviewed for this article, are a fire hazard.
Sosa is among a dozen or so day laborers who have set up a small encampment beside the drainage culvert at the southern end of the reservoir, which is state-owned property. There they often light a campfire, drink beer, have a meal, thumb through magazines and talk until the sun sets, when they head home to Freeport.
Young, a member of the Nassau County Unprotected Woodlands Taskforce, often hikes around the reservoir, which lies due east of the Meadowbrook Parkway. Young said the day laborers regularly leave the embers in their fire pit smoldering when they return to Freeport. He noted that one spark could cause the entire forest to burn down, because it's been so dry over the past month and a half. In fact, three days after Young was interviewed for this article two weeks ago, the National Weather Service issued a forest-fire warning for all of Long Island. At press time, it had only rained twice since then.
When the Herald toured the woods with Young, tree leaves were drooping and wilting; it was that dry. "If they're [lighting fires], I want them fined," Young said.
The activist also noted that the day laborers leave their beer cans in big piles around their encampment, which angers him, because volunteers, most of whom are from Merrick, clean up the woods. Young said the laborers started coming to the reservoir about six months ago.
Sosa, who immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala a year ago, said he and his friends go to the woods in Merrick whenever they're out of work or bored. They don't have the money for other entertainment. Sosa, who is divorced, said he sends whatever money he can to his three children in Guatemala, who are 12, 10 and 8. He earns $80 to $100 a day doing construction work. He works sporadically, and has no health insurance. His dream is to win the Lotto and bring his children to the U.S.
Young said he recently confronted the day laborers with agents from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Task Force on Gang Violence. The laborers were told to leave. They did. Young thought the problem was solved. They returned soon after.
The Herald interviewed Sosa on a recent Friday. The day laborer, speaking Spanish, said he knows that he and his friends should be more careful. He tells his buddies not to let their fire burn too high. When Sosa finished the interview, he and his friends walked off toward Freeport, leaving their fire pit hot. They made no attempt to put the fire out with water or dirt.
New York State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr., a Republican of Merrick, said he would send state troopers in immediately to solve the problem.
Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg, a Democrat of Merrick, heads the Unprotected Woodlands Taskforce with Legislator Norma Gonsalves, a Republican of East Meadow. Denenberg said the taskforce is getting closer to reaching an agreement with state, county and town governments to better manage the woodlands. Once that plan is in place, there will be greater resources available to police the woodlands, he said. People will also be allowed to hike and bike through the area, so they will keep an eye out for illegal activities, such as fire building.
Denenberg did not have a definite date when the taskforce's plan would be in place.
Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
