There are several hundred brothels in New York hiding behind massage services: why this business is booming

In one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in New York, not far from the Brooklyn federal court building, an illegal massage parlor is hidden in plain sight. The Ming Happy Spa on Montague Street is open until XNUMX am, seven days a week. It is adjacent to an elite women's boutique. Its inoffensive sign on the second floor constantly attracts well-dressed male clients, especially at night, says New York Post.

The alleged illegal massage business, which actually provides more intimate services, is one of at least 629 in New York City. These salons are currently operating in all five boroughs. The network of illegal businesses is so vast that, according to Heyrick Research, there are more than double the number of Starbucks in the city.

Every Starbucks has at least two illegal massage parlors (NMSs). In Queens, where there are at least 269 such massage brothels, the number of illegal establishments exceeds the number of Starbucks by 5 times.

Investigation of a teenager

Like many other NMSs, Ming Happy Spa looks innocent enough from the outside. Pictures of men, women and couples receiving luxurious massages are displayed on the windows next to the phone number, opening hours and company address.

But earlier this summer, a local teen looking for an affordable massage after a boxing session at Gleason's Gym went inside and noticed some evidence that the place was offering more than spa services.

“There was only one woman there. She asked me what I wanted and I just asked for an hour back massage, ”said 17-year-old Matthew Codsey.

“She asked me several times if I wanted anything 'other than massage', including taking a shower beforehand. And I clarified that I only need a massage, ”added the teenager.

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Kodshi, whose family has lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years, quickly began to notice other warning signs.

“She requested an advance payment and tried to negotiate a 40 percent tip, but I asked her to leave it at 20 percent.

“Having only one woman, as well as strange negotiations about services and payments, made me wary,” the teenager explained.

A world without exploitation

When Kodsey was on the couch and prepared for a massage, the masseuse received "half a dozen calls" within the first 20 minutes from a man who, she said, was drunk and "begged for a meeting." Around the middle of the massage session, the man burst into the room and indistinctly demanded services.

“She told him to wait outside and he went downstairs. At that moment it became clear to me that this salon has a reputation among men who need some attention late at night, ”said Kodsi.

Codsey's mother Rachel Foster is a co-founder of the anti-trafficking group World Without Exploitation. The teen grew up knowledgeable about what the sex trade looks like and helped found the group's youth coalition.

Kodsey was at the establishment for a short time, but he was able to quickly collate all the facts.

“There seems to be no problem if a teenager walks into an establishment and pays for any services that are offered. If I hadn’t been the youth leader of WorldWE, filmed videos and told the children about these problems, I’m not sure I would have understood what is really going on there, ”he continued.

Reviews and ratings of such salons are in the public domain

“This institution normalizes prostitution and assumes that for a certain fee, women can be bought by men who have the financial resources for this ... Money paid for sex does not buy the consent of these women, but their compliance,” added the teenager.

Ming Happy Spa advertises “sexy” full body massage from “beautiful” Asian masseuses. A popular website has reviews of sex buyers from the illegal massage business. This place has over a dozen reviews, the last of which was posted on August 4th.

In all of the reviews, men claim to have paid $ 60 for the massage. They paid between $ 40 and $ 50 for the alleged intercourse at the end. They describe repulsive details. They were allowed to grope the girls, to clarify their overall "experience rating".

You can find a lot of reviews on hundreds of such enterprises in five boroughs on the Internet. Many of them allegedly sell full-service sex, not just post-massage masturbation.

Experts said the prevalence of such establishments and their ability to act with impunity in front of everyone reflected an unofficial, city-wide shift towards decriminalizing the sex trade. This coincided with a demand from the mayor's office and three district attorneys to no longer prosecute people involved in prostitution.

By 2020, the number of arrests in the sex industry has declined

Many anti-trafficking advocates, politicians and experts generally agree that people in prostitution should not be prosecuted. In addition, there is no indication that the women at Happy Ming have been sold, rather than voluntarily providing such services, as this business will generate good earnings.

According to the State Criminal Justice Department, 2018 people were arrested in 1130 for promoting prostitution. In 2019, the figure dropped to 623 arrests. By 2020, that number had dropped by about 50 percent to 316. As of July 16, 2021, there were only 30 such arrests in the city, the numbers show.

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NYPD did not respond to a request for comment about the work they are doing to arrest sex buyers and pimps and shut down the NMS, and mayor's office also ignored the request.

Expert opinion

Yvonne Chen is the director of private sector relations for the ECPAT-USA group that fights against sexual exploitation. Chen has worked with Chinese women trafficked in massage parlors for many years. The industry is incredibly complex and different from traditional human trafficking for sexual exploitation, she said.

She said people who are trafficked by the NMS are often vulnerable immigrants. They came to the United States to earn more money for their families or to help sick relatives. They are often tricked into working in massage parlors into being convinced that they are traditional spas.

Women are bullied by publicity

Yvonne described how women fall into the trap. The first few days may be normal. They are being treated well, everything is fine. Then a special or old client comes along. Ultimately, the client requires additional services, and then women are forced to comply with these requirements.

“Exploiters or traffickers say something like, 'You know, this is our client. We want to make sure he is happy. You know we can keep the money for ourselves, but maybe you want to feed your family? Then this is the only way. "

Salon owners may even threaten to tell the community about such things. Then some women may be attacked, raped or harassed.

Publicity

The level of coercion faced by trafficked women in NMSs is much more varied than traditional trafficking. Exploiters do not need to rely on violence to keep victims under control. In many cases, they are threatened to report their activities to the immigration office or their family members. Or they threaten that the police will deport them if they try to call there.

Chen says trafficked women have been arrested more often than their clients. This "caused great distrust of the police."