September 18–25, 1997

hit and run

The City That Loves You Back

Sources say an increasing number of women arrested for prostitution, particularly in Kensington, are claiming they moved here from other states because they learned through the Internet that Philly is a hooker-friendly kind of town. In other words, you're much less likely to get busted or to get jail time here than in, say, New York, where non-violent crimes are actually taken seriously.

"That's what I heard," says Lt. John Cerrone of the Police Department's vice unit. "How true it is, I don't know."

But he heard it from a pretty good source — his supervisor, who Cerrone says was informed of the online publicity by a prostitute. Patrol cops, he adds, have mentioned hearing the same thing. He speculates that perhaps a computer-savvy pimp is expanding his search for new talent.

Whatever the case, there is some evidence to support the rumor. Last Friday night, police dragged not one, not two, but three hookers from Oklahoma into Judge Seamus McCaffery's night court in the Northeast. "I sentenced two of them to five to 10 days," McCaffery recalls, "and I gave the other one 10 to 20 days because she was mouthing off."

Councilman James Kenney, who for years has chased prostitutes and johns off South Broad Street, is incensed that the city has earned this reputation in the sex industry.

"This is a direct result of our lax attitude about this kind of stuff," Kenney fumes. "[People say] 'Okay, so a guy's getting a little sex for $20 — what's the big deal?' The big deal is it brings down neighborhoods."

And the most infuriating part, he adds, is that "half of the sleazebags [seeking the hookers' services] are from the suburbs. They're the guys who packed up their families for Washington Township because the city's too dirty and unsafe, but now they think it's okay after a Flyers game to drive around looking for Mrs. Goodbar."

None of the sources could provide Web addresses for sites promoting Philadelphia as a prostitute's paradise. City Paper's own search (bet you wish you could surf for info on hookers on company time) found only one closely related item: X-Review's November 1996 "general report" on finding love, or a facsimile thereof, in our fair city.

X-Review's advice: "While in Philadelphia, search along Kensington and Frankford Avenues."

"Usually [prostitutes] can be found on just about any corner [of Kensington Avenue] from the hours of 7 p.m.-5 a.m. ... These are not high priced call girls, they are your typical street girls. Although on some occasions you can find some really beautifull [sic] women, on the avarage [sic] they are for the most part pretty plain looking."

Interestingly, however, the report also notes "you will have to be careful of the POLICE. They regularly patrol the area."

A brief mention of Kensington's tourist attractions appeared in a 1995 posting in rec.arts.movies.past-films, about the deplorable condition of Rocky Balboa's old 'hood: "The prostitutes who work Kensington are beginning to look very sick and appear in need of medical attention."

—Frank Lewis