By: Jared Evan
The NY Post ran an interesting expose on the shady massage parlors which often pop up in every conceivable kind of neighborhood in the city.
The NY Post reported that a network of illegal enterprises is so vast, they outnumber Starbucks 2 to 1 citywide, according to data from Heyrick Research.
NY Post reported: For every Starbucks that’s in the five boroughs, there are at least two IMBs. In Queens, which has at least 269 open brothels, the illicit businesses outnumber Starbucks 5 to 1, the data from the intelligence-driven counter-trafficking organization that focuses exclusively on the illicit massage industry shows.
To recent New Yorkers who are used to the new pristine NYC, these massage parlors may be a shock, to long-time New Yorkers, this is nothing new.
NYC at one time was the sex business capital of the world, originating from Times Square. NYC used to be the main hub of the pornography business and most films were produced in the city. Live sex shows, massage parlors, adult theaters, peep show emporiums, were all commonplace in NYC.
The porn business headed to California in the mid 80’s and the rest, all dried up as developers took over, bringing more palatable entertainment and normal businesses to the masses of tourists. Today, the sex business is scattered all over the 5 boroughs mainly in the form of these low profile “massage parlors”.
The NY Post focused on Ming Happy Spa on Montague Street in a recent article.
The Post reported:
A local teenager in search of an affordable massage after a boxing session at Gleason’s Gym wandered in and noticed the hallmarks of a place offering more than spa services.
“[There was] only one woman working there. She asked me what I wanted and I simply said an hour-long back massage,” 17-year-old Matthew Kodsi told The Post.
“She asked me several times if I wanted anything ‘other than the massage,’ including a shower beforehand. I said no, just the massage.”
“She requested payment upfront and tried negotiating a tip, starting at 40 percent, but I requested she keep it at 20 percent. The one-woman show, mixed with the strange negotiations of service and payment, made me uneasy,” the teen explained.
Kodsi’s mother, Rachel Foster, is the co-founder of the anti-trafficking group World Without Exploitation — so the teen grew up learning about what the sex trade looks like and helped start the group’s youth coalition.
“When I was in the space, it took me a moment but then I quickly connected the dots,” Kodsi said.
“Here lies the problem with legalizing prostitution, which you hear a lot about, it raises the possibility of illegal sex trafficking, today is very different than the 70’s and 80’s porn-connected mafia-driven sex businesses of Times Square. These places are shadier and almost 100% run by Russian and Asian crime gangs,” according to a longtime NY resident.
