Ghana ThinkTank

Legal Waiting Zone

Queens, New York

2011

Ghana ThinkTank, a global network of think tanks that aims to resolve local problems, operates with a mobile unit that invites passersby to submit concerns for the nonprofit’s wide-ranging affiliates to explore. While parked in Queens in 2011, ThinkTank workers heard that police were ticketing immigrant workers nearby for loitering, despite the fact the anti-loitering law was deemed unconstitutional in New York 20 years ago. In response, the ThinkTank established “Legal Waiting Zones,” taped-off areas with signs in English and Spanish educating residents on the illegality of police’s actions and empowering them with the knowledge of their right to hang out on city sidewalks.

Community, Information
15,000
3 months
12
Problem - discrimination against immigrant workers
Solution - legal waiting zones