Catholic Charities of New York held a celebration on May 1 as Cardinal Timothy Dolan helped dedicate its new Day Laborer Center at 325 Yonkers Ave. in Yonkers. The center is designed to provide a central location for day laborers to congregate while waiting for work as well as a central location for businesses to hire them. The new hub will offer classes for people seeking to improve life skills and train for future jobs, especially in the construction trades.
After blessing the entire center, including a garden area, Cardinal Dolan cut the ribbon to formally open the facility.
During a conversation with Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Cardinal Dolan said, “Everything Catholic Charities does is in cooperation with the community. I was inspired, mayor. Most of the people who do work here are themselves workers who have been part of this and helped by it in the community. These folks, when I talk to them, they want a little home, they want school for their kids and they want a job. You’ve seen it, because Yonkers is sort of an icon for it, how they become some of the most responsible citizens in the community.”
Spano said, “They’re very much involved with their kids, very much involved with their kids’ education … they just want to work. We want to make sure people don’t abuse our immigrants and we want to be sure they get what they’re entitled to.”
Cardinal Dolan said that it was most appropriate for the dedication to take place on May 1, which is the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker.
