It looked like Woodstock, minus the music and mud.
But the more than 1,000 campers staked out along several Queens streets all weekend meant business — lining up for a shot today at a prized plumbers-union apprenticeship.
The throng of un- or underemployed hopefuls snaked around the headquarters of the Local 1 Plumbers Union on 47th Avenue in Long Island City, waiting for today’s 8 a.m. opening, when 1,000 applications will be handed out for an apprenticeship to jobs that command close to $50 an hour plus benefits.
“It’s the Woodstock of Queens,” crowed Nick Criscione, 20, of Stony Point in Rockland County, who was first on a line that began forming Friday morning. “I’ve never camped out for a job before, but the economy isn’t so good and this is good-paying, steady work.”
A police source worried the feel-good atmosphere might disintegrate when the doors to the union office open.
“There may be a rush and line jumpers, which happened two years ago,” the source said. “People fought a lot, and now, in this economy, who knows?”
Additional reporting by Catherine Nance