Like a scene from the Great Depression, about 300 men camped out along four blocks in Queens to get hold of a few precious job applications that won’t be handed out until tomorrow.
The first job-seekers started camping out at 4 a.m. Friday, hoping to land employment with the Local 3 Elevator Mechanics Union. Officials will be interviewing 750 applicants for just 100 positions fixing elevators around the city.
Some cooked food on small barbecue grills and slept in tents on the sidewalk on 36th Street in Sunnyside as they waited for the union-hall doors to open at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.
With unemployment in New York state hitting 10 percent last month and some 400,000 people unemployed in the city, some said they weren’t surprised that so many people had joined the line of desperation by yesterday afternoon.
“There’s not many opportunities out there,” said Sandy Mazzola, who came all the way from Suffolk County for the union job, which is an apprenticeship that requires no experience.
“It’s a good job,” he said. “It’s an opportunity, mainly. It’s a chance to have the American dream all over again.”
The first person on line was Jesse Freeman, 27, of Woodhaven. He has been out of work for a year.
“If people are sleeping in tents on the street, that’s evidence of desperation. I can’t do much more than be the first on line,” he said. “These are career jobs. People wouldn’t go to this extreme if they thought there was another way.”
Relatives delivered food — one job-seeker had a family member bring lasagna. They wound up going to the bathroom in a port-a-potty put in place by the union.
There were no reports of trouble, though P.S. 155 asked them to clear out from in front of its grounds, thus making the line stretch even longer.
“We all became sort of a family,” said Jeremy Fernandez, 24, of Woodhaven, who has been out of work six months. “If you need a drink or something to eat, we help each other out.”
The reward could be worth the wait. The lucky 100 who get jobs will win four-year apprenticeships paying $14 to $16 an hour. Those who become full-fledged mechanics can make up to $40 an hour.
“It an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Alberto Cortes, 35, of Astoria, a former security guard who has been out of work for two years. “I want to be able to secure my family as well as myself.”