An aggravated neighbor thought it would be appropriate to harass the contractors working on the adjacent property but when met with the owner of the house, she began to shout and argue.

Gaby Alvarez has Spanish-speaking workers on her parent’s property in Hackensack, New Jersey and when her neighbor Peggy went to confront one of the workers, it became hostile on October 13.

The dispute started when the contractor turned down Peggy when she inquired about a job for her and then continuous pestering led to Gaby getting involved.

Gaby noticed the yelling from her neighbor and looked to defuse the situation -- but things escalated.

The most notable point of the confrontation saw Gaby try to tell the tradesman to go inside in Spanish as he is not fluent in English which prompted Peggy to shout "Speak American!" in a disrespectful tone.

The constant back and forth turned into a shouting match until Peggy backed away.

Gaby said: “Before I even started to film I could hear her yelling at the contractor in the driveway. I thought I was hearing things or misunderstanding, so I didn't go outside right away. After a minute I knew something was wrong so I went out and brought my phone with me. He did not speak a lot of English, so I stepped in to ask Peggy what she wanted. I knew that whatever she wanted, he didn't have to be there for it so I asked him in Spanish to please go back into the house. Once I spoke Spanish, she lost it, she started screaming that I should 'speak American." I kept telling her that this was inappropriate and she needed to go home, but she disagreed. It's really hurtful that she would say something so ignorant and racist to me, especially when she knows who I am and has known my family for decades.”

An aggravated neighbour thought it would be appropriate to harass the contractors working on the adjacent property but when met with the owner of the house, she began to shout and argue.




Gaby Alvarez has Spanish speaking workers on her parent’s property in Hackensack, New Jersey and when her neighbour, Peggy, went to confront one of the workers, it became hostile on October 13th.




The dispute started when the contractor turned down Peggy when she enquired about a job for her and then continuous pestering led to  Gaby getting involved.




Gaby noticed the yelling from her neighbour and looked to defuse the situation but things escalated.




The most notable point of the confrontation saw Gaby try to tell the tradesman to go inside in Spanish as he is not fluent in English which prompted Peggy to shout ‘Speak American!’ in a disrespectful tone.




Constant back and forth turned into a shouting match until Peggy backed away.




Gaby said: “Before I even started to film I could hear her yelling at the contractor in the driveway. 




“I thought I was hearing things or misunderstanding, so I didn't go outside right away. 




“After a minute I knew something was wrong so I went out and brought my phone with me. 




“He did not speak a lot of English, so I stepped in to ask Peggy what she wanted. 




“I knew that whatever she wanted, he didn't have to be there for it so I asked him in Spanish to please go back into the house.




“Once I spoke Spanish, she lost it, she started screaming that I should "Speak American", I kept telling her that this was inappropriate and she needed to go home, but she disagreed.




“It's really hurtful that she would say something so ignorant and racist to me, especially when she knows who I am and has known my family for decades.”