I read with great interest your article on day laborers in Farmingdale (Jan. 21, 2000). I moved to Farmingdale in 1987 for the same reasons I think a lot of people have: quality of life, good schools, nice people, and the small-town feel of the area - a place to raise a family. So when a group of 20-plus men sit on a street corner, drink beer, dump garbage, urinate, and make sexually explicit remarks when a woman walks by, it just doesn't fit with what Farmingdale is all about.

I applaud the efforts of Mayor Trudden and the code enforcement unit. I'm sure the IRS would like to be informed of the people who attempt to hire these individuals, and of course pay the FICA, Medicare, State Tax, Workman's Compensation, etc. owed on their wages to the government. I'm also sure these hardworking individuals would have no problem paying taxes on the money they earned. I would also guess that the one or two local delis where these individuals gather wouldn't mind being inspected by the state liquor authority or county or village authorities for nuisance violations, seeing how these people have no trouble purchasing beer any time of day, seven days a week, and stand out in front of the establishment drinking the beer and urinating while waiting to be hired.

Had this been the Farmingdale I saw 13 years ago, I would not have had to write this letter - because I would not be living here.

Thomas J. Esposito