NYC Sues To Shut Down Shady East Village Asian Massage Parlor

By: Craig Tartone

A recent episode of Law and Order called “Counselor, It’s Chinatown,” centered on an anti- sex trafficking rescue mission. The SVU team, rescue massage parlor workers — who they suspect to be undocumented and victims of sex trafficking from China — and a spa called Sweet Joy Relax Spa in Manhattan’s Chinatown that employs them.

Art imitates life often and the NY Post reported that the city is suing to shut down an alleged brothel in an East Village walk-up that touts “Asian masseuses”

Two undercover cops made separate visits on July 5 and 13, during which each was escorted to a room with a massage table where a woman entered and offered to have sex for $220, which they both declined, the NY Post reported.

One of the cops returned on July 23 and was told the price had increased to $300, which he handed over before notifying his colleagues he made a “positive buy,” court papers say.

One of the women was arrested for prostitution but the outcome of the case is unknown.

In court papers filed Nov. 15, the city — which is also seeking damages of $1,000 for every day the alleged brothel was in business — argued that “arrests and criminal proceedings alone will not stop the illegal activity”, the Post reported.

On Nov. 20, Judge James d’Auguste signed an order temporarily shuttering the business, near Astor Place, and that same day an NYPD cop served copies of court papers on a female employee who gave her name as Kum Suk Mireles, The Post reported .

These kinds of business are nothing new in NYC. Until the FBI shut down the Back-page website for allowing business which often not only offered prostitution, offered women who were working there against their will, virtual sex slaves, thousands of brothels operated all over NYC.

After the FBS shut down Back page, Craig’s list banned all adult ads and personal ads on their free classified website. This indeed put a dent in the sex trafficking business, however it is still a prolific problem

A lawyer for landlord Elias Kalimian told the Post eviction proceedings were underway against the tenant who’s been renting the $10,000-a-month space for more than eight years.“We were under the impression that they were running a legal, licensed nail salon,” said lawyer Lisa Faham-Selzer of the law firm Kucker Marino Winiarsky & Bittens.

“We had no idea this was going on until we were sent papers…. We’re trying to work with the city to get them out.”

A lawyer for the business has yet to file paperwork on its behalf, and the owner didn’t return a message seeking comment.

“While it is vital to stop sex slavery and exploitation of immigrants and undocumented women and sex workers, this will never go away, period. NY and other states should consider some form of legal brothels, like they have in Las Vegas, I don’t endorse prostitution, but bringing this into the legal realm, could possibly lessen sex trafficking and the criminal underworld and prostitution is not going anywhere, period”, Jared Evan, libertarian leaning political analyst shared his views with the Jewish Voice.