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well i was a typical teenaged male, high on testosterone as i walked down 8th ave. back in 1991 and boy do i miss those sordid seedy joints offering peep shows and all types of adult fun. my question is, once buliani wiped 'em out, did they supplant themselves elsewhere in the city? are peep shows or such sex shops even legal anymore here? i remember west 4th street on the B train had a few as soon as you would come out of the station but not sure if they are there anymore. i realize the internet has replaced retail venues including adult entertainment but there has to be a physical hot spot so to speak somewhere around the city.
8th Avenue from 40th to 50th was notorious for those sex places before the TImes Square cleanup. from what i recall, when 42nd street was being purged of such places from 1992 to 1996, 8th Avenue, which had been experiencing a cleanup of such establishments, started to see more XXX places due to the 42nd street purge. around 1997 this all died out for the most part
with the internet available i think that street prostitution and adult places no longer flourish like they used to
i remember back in 1979 there were a total of 140 sex shoppes in the TImes Sq area. by the mid 90's there were only 30 or so
Back in the '90's, Giuliani pushed through a change to the zoning law to limit sex business. This did a lot to break them up and shove what were left to peripheral areas. Between that, the availability of porn on the internet, and the booming real estate market, the retail storefront sex business kind of collapsed.
The ones in that picture you posted are just about the only ones left on that stretch. I passed by there myself the other day actually on the way to a restaurant on the same street. Most of the X rated filth got pushed into private little "massage" parlors inside dingy walk up buildings (or even some unassuming office type building as well- the only reason I know this is because my friend used to work in an office down the hall from a "Reiki and Spirit Massage Parlor" and the johns would hide out in the women's bathroom waiting for their turn with the hookers.)
It happens when a government takes control of everything...neo puritanism pays political dividends.
"Is that a camera looking into my window?" "A drone I heard overhead."
So now Disney reigns supreme...it brings in dimwitted tourist looking for "the real New York."
Back in the '90's, Giuliani pushed through a change to the zoning law to limit sex business. This did a lot to break them up and shove what were left to peripheral areas. Between that, the availability of porn on the internet, and the booming real estate market, the retail storefront sex business kind of collapsed.
It pays economic dividends too. The whole Times Square area is much more valuable now, and generates much more economic activity then it did in the bad old days. It generates a lot more jobs, and much more tax revenue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kefir King
It's all sterile now.
It happens when a government takes control of everything...neo puritanism pays political dividends.
"Is that a camera looking into my window?" "A drone I heard overhead."
So now Disney reigns supreme...it brings in dimwitted tourist looking for "the real New York."
There is market for it. There will always be people who will pay for sex and there are always people who want money for sex.... The market will continue just under the radar as much as it can
The ones in that picture you posted are just about the only ones left on that stretch. I passed by there myself the other day actually on the way to a restaurant on the same street. Most of the X rated filth got pushed into private little "massage" parlors inside dingy walk up buildings (or even some unassuming office type building as well- the only reason I know this is because my friend used to work in an office down the hall from a "Reiki and Spirit Massage Parlor" and the johns would hide out in the women's bathroom waiting for their turn with the hookers.)
yes its basically like this... its not blatantly in your face covered in lights anymore, its mainly hidden and those who know where to go, know where to go.
its so weird because looking at Times Square now its hard to believe it was ever seedy and raunchy like in the old pictures. but lets be honest middle Americans and tweens bring in money by the boatloads.. sex sells but not as much as Disney does.
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