I spotted this poster last week at the bus shelter on Emmons Avenue and East 26th Street, right in front of Applebee’s. The advertisement is a “call to end human trafficking.”
The location is no coincidence. The hotels on Emmons Avenue have been known for years as hooker hotels. Whether that’s true or not, the stigma persists. And numerous young Eastern European women have been brought to the states in much the same way described on the poster, especially in the 1990s.
But it’s not really something most of us think about in our neighborhood. Sheepshead Bay isn’t exactly the kind of place where you’re frequently accosted by hookers and pimps, or see the violence or skeeziness it draws. You don’t see the cars pulling up and the girls leaning in. It ain’t Times Square in the 70s.
But it is a problem in our neighborhood. After all, it was just in May that vigilant internet folk kept a pair of Russian girls from being duped into a sex ring based out of a Sheepshead Bay-area nightclub. Every one of us should similarly be on guard.
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In the 80s the girls had far more of a street presence. Especially along the perimeters of the hotels. I heard that some really awful things happened back then. Some of the girls were just doing it for kicks, and had no street sense at all.
im curious…. who is this ad helping? immigrant women who cant read english, or girls that are too scared to call the cops anyways. they should put up ads for masturbation instead.
A neighborhood filled with godless communists and their little girls acting like whores to older Russian men who can't speak a word of English. I'm trying to understand who is the invading terrorist presence, how did this happen and why doesn't anyone do anything. So 30,000 Russians a year is okay, no one objects, but the second a brown man comes to town it's an issue. The hypocrisy that is Sheepshead Bay. Non-English speaking no-value-having phony-Jewish-cossaks kicked out of Israel creating a culture of prostitutes, welfare abusers and exclusive absurd real estate at the expense of English speaking educated middle class who grew up here.
umm…what?
Jimmylaz
What a dumbass you are. Godless communist? There are no communists here, Russian-speaking population of Brooklyn is overwhelmingly Republican, unless you are saying the two ideologies are the same. As far as godless, if you choose to believe in some pie-in-the-sky bullshit stories your pedophile priest is preaching to you while fingering your ass thats your right. At least a third of the US population is either agnostic or atheist. God-fearing people flew plains in our WTC, I suspect their ideology was very similar to yours.
The Russian-speaking population is also one of the most successful in the country, on average an immigrant from former Soviet Union is better educated than native population of the US and earns higher income.
I probably pay more in taxes to this country and state than you earn altogether, so you, “middle class” idiot, are living at my expence.
I agree with 90% of what Jimmylaz has to say. Russia never was and never will be our allies. Most of the people that are like you Netserv47 have abused our system into a hole. Successful here due to government hand outs that people born in this country have to fight for. Did you FIGHT IN ANY WAR FOR THIS COUNTRY?
You snot nose asshole. There are good hard working Russians here that care about the quality of life around them. Most are selfish and self centered not giving to anyone other than another Russian. Take, take, take. Give back shit.
Not an effectively way of offsetting bigotry. It's hard to avoid the knee-flex reaction that you KNOW is going to outrage someone when you read something ignorant but it's necessary to consider the impact on other readers.
Interesting fact, a lot of very successful people are immigrants or their offspring. Has been the case here for most of our history. Smart immigrants do not push their success in other people's faces. There have been times in our history where we have deported immigrants we thought were “Un-American” The Republicans are the ones most likely to get behind such a program today, so I would keep that in mind. It was liberal Democrats that were responsible for bringing large numbers of Russians here. But since they are not being supported by the Russian community fully it will not be in their interest to challenge any crazy attempt to create “reverse immigration”.
If you think it can't happen here, you're wrong, it certainly can. The bigots unfortunately vote in large numbers. And carefully keep records of remarks such as yours.
You are an idiot! Russians come here educate themselves and make better living than many other cultures. Many of us became lawyers, doctors, accountants and pharmacists. You must be extremely jealous of this type of success.
We work extremely hard for everything. We educate ourselves and become much more successful than people average American.
Fascinating how a post about a poster meant to help WOMEN & GIRLS has turned into yet another macho melee (pun intended) — a bunch of men fighting about ideology, religion, taxes & real estate. Barely a word about the women, girls, children.
the emmons avenue hotel is a common place for hidden hookups. i almost got dragged into one two months ago.
GO back to the issue itself,, guys,,,
I do not think it is a good thing to put this ad here. It means that the area is full of this kind of ,wrong-act. unless reports are not 100% accurate
all people are effected by this kind of act, women, kids, adults.
It is sad to hear these things among such great neighborhood still happening..
Please stick with the topic..
They were, and I suspect they probably are still. This is an subculture that won't disappear. Since the potential for being a victim is there, these women need to know that they can get help. Many are cynical, but in a desperate situation might make a call, as long as they were assured that they would not be charged for their participation in events that precipitated their endangerment.
Prostitution is often the lesser evil in the culture. There are greater ones, such as kidnapping and physical violence being committed against women often in fear of authority figures such as police. This is an attempt to to control the possibility of such terrible things by empowering these women through information.
That can be a dangerous area to be walking in. Has been that way for a long time. A cop once told me years ago that women walking in the area alone are assumed to be hookers.
To marachi, if working extremely hard means the highest rate of insurance fraud claims of any one ethnic group in America then yes, you're working very hard.
To Netserv47, Ironically, your line of defense against being called a communist is to accuse me of bombing the WTC and arrogantly say I am alive at your expense. Then you say Americans are godless. Well my Russian compadre, last time I checked the Republicans advocated America as a Christian nation with a strong family values slant. That would put your athiest, wh*ring culture of prostitution and Russian isolationism on the wrong side buddy. Either you have a massive identity crisis or your identification with Republican is purely to appear on the right side.
jlaz
Siberian wolf is your compadre. You have a massive writing ability crisis. I never identified myself as Republican, I simply pointed out that majority of russian-speaking new yorkers are Republican.
My “atheist” culture is no more whoring than you sexually repressed, pseudo-conservative Christian culture. Your strong family values country has the highest number of rapes per capita than any other developed nation, in fact it's at the top of Interpol list of sexual assaults all the time for decades, though I haven't checked the last few years.
I don't hear anyone here accusing african-american residents of murdering culture, though we all know the majority of murders in Brooklyn are done by black people.
I don't know about insurance fraud, I am not in insurance business. I know I work hard, pay tax and obey the laws of my new country. And every asshole who start talking about me through m community is going to get just as much shit back from me.
nolastname
Is your measure of being an American based on fighting in a war? I'm sorry to tell you, that means about 95% of all citizens do not qualify and have to be deported.
As far as amercan wars of the last 60 years ar all illegal occupation wars and are nothing more than a waste of human life and a monument to stupidity.
But just so you know, I come from a military family. My family burned in tanks, sank in ships and died in concentration camps. And killed a ton of nazis in the process.
Another piece of information, I never had any kind of government assistance, I started working night shift for $5.25/hr right off the plane and built a life and a career with my hard work and brains.
And you soound like a loser who never accomplished anything in his life and can't figure out who to blame.
And who were they fighting for? The 95% you speak of were born here (citizens) and would be drafted if needed. If I believe you (which I don't) there are still 999.999 freeloaders. You would be one in a million.
The proof is in the area open your eyes.
There are Russia girls being pimped all over sheepshead bay. The escort service is alive and well. That is the issue. So while you gloat about your success what are you doing to help your comrades? What are you doing to improve your neighborhood?
And I am content with what I have, It is mine no people were trampled to get it.
I have everything I need guilt free.
I blame the government for allowing your ass in at all.
A lot of things happen there which is scary. We just have to be careful . From my own personal experience some Russian men do not respect women. I do not blame the whole race just that individual. You just have to have enough sense to not walk around the neighborhood late at night.
Settle down, children. I'm not liking the tone of this conversation – from either side. It's not constructive or analytical. It's personal, yet based on broad assumptions. Knock it off and and please return to the topic at hand. And remember that if anyone takes the time to engage in conversation here, it's because they have a shared love and concern for this community. There's no need to alienate each other.
Fascinating observation.
I don't think I would describe this area as “full of this kind” of thing. I think that portion of the neighborhood may have higher numbers because the infrastructure is there to support it, but I don't think it's this ubiquitous crime that's defining of Sheepshead Bay. The poster is good, and necessary, because it's a crime that's so well-hidden many of us forget it's still a problem today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/opinion/15kri...
Nicholas Kristof's column: 'Seduction, Slavery and Sex”
nolastname, so that you know, all of us college graduates had to register with Selective Service before attending college, so that we all, Soviet-born (majority of us were not born in Russia but in Ukraine and other Soviet republics), will serve this country in time of a war just like anyone else.
I don't know of any Russian girls being pimped; perhaps unlike you, I have no interest in escort services, etc. But just like Russian prostitutes, there are Irish, Italian, Spanish, Black, Carribean and other prostitutes.
As far as immigration is concerned, once upon a time someone did not want your ancestors to be here either, whether you are of Irish, Italian, German or of Jewish extraction.
Lisanne,
Our community has both parties to thank, and especially President Ronald Reigan.
Republican party that many “Russians” support is not a party of religious conservatives from Alabama, but of rather moderate Republicans from East Coast.
I wish there still a strong moderate wing in the Republican party to be a forceful voice of reason there. But the “Rockefeller” wing started falling apart with the ascension of Ronald Reagan, who resented the power that the “Eastern establishment” had over the party. Currently, the fringe element of the party are capable of taking it even further to the right, and their agenda is a scary one. Moderate Republicans will not be part of the dialogue should they succeed in controlling the party.
Yep, even the Narriockh that inhabited the area in the 1640s were thought to be interlopers by by the Massebackhun.
There is a simple solution to illegal sex trafficking and illegal prostitution. As soon as prostitution is legalized, taxed, regulated and conforms to labor laws it will stop the demand for sex trafficking.
It works really well in some counties in Nevada, there is no reason why it can't be legalized nationally. The women would not need to work on the street, they will make more money, have security guarding them, they will pay taxes and the business will be run by corporations, not pimps.
Since we brought up Republicans, they will never vote for it, though it makes perfect sense.
Legalized prostitution is worth great thought and consideration.
A lot of prostitutes do make a lot of money, but don't hold on to it. Many are in it to pay for drug habits. Hence the problem of legalizing here. Do we look the other way when it is obvious that we are enabling behavior which is not only unhealthy, but still illegal? Or do we require drug testing and enrollment in substance abuse programs which often have a poor long term success rate?
In the current environment it is so very problematic. But if it could be done it would accomplish far more good than ill.
I am all for legalizing drugs as well. It's very simple to put all drug cartels, smugglers, gangs and dealers out of business. It would seriously cut down drug-related violent crime. It will save the coutry hundreds of billions $$$ but cutting the funding for “war on drugs”, lowering prison population and producing billions in tax revenue.
The saved up money can be used to help the addicted.
It's easier to decriminalize drug use than to make it legal. That would open up a Pandora's box of problems. In essence, the only way to accomplish that would be to eliminate prescription drugs altogether. That would lead us down a slippery slope of dangerous self-medicating.
Are Russian men a race unto themselves Gia? Does that go the same for Russian women? LOL! I think your statement about disrespect of the opposite gender may apply to about somewhere close to half the race of both men and women.
First let me say that this forum has lost sight of the issue at hand. The victims are these young women and girls. With that being said….I'm glad I'm not the only Amerikanski that feels this way about the sovietz.
I agree with most of jlaz's views (don't know about the pimpin' daughter dynamic).
I grew up in The Bay, and he's right about the way people treated each other BEFORE the eastern bloc invasion. The magic IS gone! I tried my best to accept/welcome/be-friend these sovietz (my grandparents are from there) – but they'll have NOTHING to do with me because I am just the Amerikanski to them, and they DO treat me like I”M the foreigner.
Also, when you grew up here you just know things – like where the whore houses are – even if you don't patronize them…you just know.
By the way, I am a former A.T.B. – returned to the old 'hood. I hope some of the magic will survive.
Cabbie to the Some Russian Lady: “Before you, sovietz, came here, people were treating each other nice, and now the magic is gone… With that being said, can I be your friend?”
I wonder what she would say?..
I'm closing comments on this post. Many of you have strayed far from the topic and have started resorting to personal attacks. Please try not to let that happen again.