Owners and trainers of million dollar race horses have subsidized a day-care center for the pre-school children of their immigrant workers. DP
Is there a stranger location for a day-care in New York? Don't bet on it
by Keith Greenberg
villagevoice.com: Immigrants have always done the dirty work at Belmont. Once, the backstretch was dominated by Irish, then Haitians, and—since the 1980s—immigrants from Mexico, Chile, Peru, and other Latin-American countries.
Just beyond the stable gate at Belmont Park, within earshot of the galloping fillies and disgruntled gamblers, 2,000 employees labor on the racetrack's backstretch. Secluded on 400 acres by language and the peculiar codes of the track, they muck out the stalls, shove the horses into the starting gate, and hold the animals' legs as fresh shoes are nailed into their hooves.
As a rule, they speak Spanish and begin the day at about 5 a.m. Because so many have children, this presents a monumental problem. After all, there aren't many day-care centers on the border of Queens and Long Island that accommodate workers adhering to farmers' hours.
Until recently, the children were left to fend for themselves, hanging out in cars or trainers' offices, or sitting home and watching novelas with older siblings, who'd miss school themselves. Another option—according to Donna Chenkin, director of the Belmont Child Care Association—was being wedged into "illegal babysitting" arrangements, accompanied by a dozen or so other kids and one weary overseer with little incentive to teach.
Then, in 2003, Chenkin's organization started the first day-care center on the grounds of an American racetrack, opening the doors at about 4:45 a.m., seven days a week, 365 days a year. "These are million-dollar horses," Chenkin explains, "and you can't just let them out. Their owners need them exercised and fed every single day."
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment