Warning signs for human traffi cking
As Flushing tackles sex sale problem, police hold seminar alerting public to enslavement
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Hundreds of attendees
filled the auditorium at
Flushing Queens Library
on March 29 to learn about
human trafficking and
prostitution, a pivotal
issue that has plagued the
community and prompted
local lawmakers and the
NYPD to take action.
The Human Trafficking
Seminar held at 41-17 Main
St. informed residents of
signs they should look out
for and resources available
to help victims coerced into
prostitution as a result of
human trafficking.
Councilman Peter Koo
organized the event along
with the NYPD Patrol
Borough Queens North, local
nonprofit organizations,
and the Mayor’s Office to
End Domestic and Gender-
Based Violence.
“Human trafficking is
something that has been
going on for a long time
locally and nationwide but
it hasn’t always received
a lot of attention,” said
Inspector Chris Morello
of Patrol Borough Queens
North. “We want our officers
in this borough to approach
this problem from many
different angles — not just
enforcement, but we want
them to reach out to the
community and try to make
contact with victims.”
The seminar comes after
law enforcement in the
past year began cracking
down on illicit activity on
40th Road between Prince
and Main streets, which
has gained notoriety as the
red light district hurting
businesses on the block and
giving the neighborhood a
bad reputation.
Koo, who has been
working in partnership with
the NYPD and local nonprofit
organizations to address the
prostitution issue, said his
office has received complaints
from small business owners
about women intimidating
customers in their
door fronts.
“On 40th Road, we’ve
identified at least eight fake
massage parlors on this
small block where dozens
Lieutenant Christopher Sharpe of the NYPD Vice Enforcement Divisiopn’s Human Trafficking Team addressed the seminar in Flushing on
March 29. Photo by Carlotta Mohamed
of women walk the streets
all day and night,” said
Koo. “Business owners’
property was vandalized
when they complained and
some were even threatened
and told their legitimate
business was getting in the
way of the brothels. Parents
complained of drug abuse
and open sex solicitation
in full view of children at
Bland Playground.”
Additionally, Koo said,
legal massage parlors have
complained that the “fake
parlors have given them
all a bad name.” He urged
victims of prostitution and
human trafficking to utilize
available resources such as
job training, English classes
and counseling.
According to Lieutenant
Christopher Sharpe of the
NYPD Vice Enforcement
Division’s Human Trafficking
Team, a study conducted by
the University of Southern
California showed that 56
percent of people trafficked
are of Asian background, 9
percent are Latino, and 18
percent are African.
“New York City is one of
the top five cities out of 20
in country for labor and sex
trafficking,” said Sharpe.
“About one-third of teens
lured out on the street, who
will be homeless within 48
hours, will be engaged in
what we call ‘survival sex.’
Some other populations that
are vulnerable: immigrants
suffering from physical and
sexual abuse from the past,
victims of drug addiction, or
a juvenile with a criminal
arrest record.”
According to Chief Martin
Morales, commanding
officer of Patrol Borough
Queens North, in the United
States, trafficking is “just
violence, deception, and
other controlled tactics to
force people to engage in
sex, forced labor and other
services against their will.”
Morales said the NYPD
has made new efforts to go
against pimps and johns
who are responsible for sex
trafficking.
In 2017, the department
added 25 detectives to the
Vice Division’s Human
Trafficking Team, exclusively
for the investigation of sex
trafficking. Additionally,
Neighborhood Patrol Officers
(NCOs) have also been
trained to better recognize
trafficking victims from daily
encounters with the public
and conducting undercover
operations targeting johns on
the streets.
Victims and individuals
who are concerned about
trafficking can call the NYPD
Human Trafficking Hotline:
646-610-7272.
“You can report any
crimes to the police without
fear of deportation. We will
not ask any victim of their
immigration status. It’s
not in any police reports
or captions. Don’t be afraid
to come forward and share
information,” said Morales.
Meanwhile, outside of
the premises, a small rally
was held by members of
Red Canary Song — a newly
formed coalition of migrant
massage workers in Flushing
and Chinatown that support
the grassroots organization
of migrant sex workers.
An organizing contact of
Red Canary Song, Elle, has
worked five years at massage
parlors across the U.S. She
said not all massage workers
are sex workers, and their
businesses contribute to
society and should also be
protected, not bothered or
raided by police.
“As a first-generation
immigrant, a transferable
career and skills to a new
country never worked out for
me since landing here, so the
massage business provides
me with a means of survival,”
said Elle in a statement. “It
is also a skill, like other
jobs. The massage parlor is a
platform for our survival in
this country when there are
not of other services to help
immigrants transition into
the country. It’s our livelihood
and our career. Most of us,
we work hard, and we should
be treated with respect, like
any other service worker in
this country.”
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