New Rochelle Considers How to Address Brothels Operating in Downtown
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 24, 2022) — On October 3, a reader sent an email asking why the New Rochelle Police Department allows brothels to operate in New Rochelle.
“I’ve attached some of the ads that are running yesterday and today,” this reader wrote. “Note the addresses on the ad. They don’t even hide and there’s no way the police don’t know.”
The reader sent me sample ads from bedpage.com, a successor to the notorious backpage.com, a sort of Craigslist for sexual services. Based on my past reporting, I know NRPD monitors social media and websites like this on a regular basis.
I replied the same day.
“I expect they do know. And maybe they have some sting operation underway. That said, I will go by these locations and see what I can see then call the phone number and see what happens. Thanks for the tip.”
I did go by locations advertised on bedpage.com: 514 Main Street and 271 North Avenue, the K Building. I walked around the exterior and the lobbies and took photos at each location.
514 Main Street
514 Main is on the same block as three major development projects: RXR’s One Clinton and Two Clinton buildings and directly across the street from 500 Main as well as the proposed 525 Main.
271 North Avenue (K Building)
271 North is managed by Kaufman Realty Corporation. Edward J. Hart of Kaufman Realty Corporation is a member of the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) Board.
As it happens, NRPD did have a sting operation underway in October:
Prostitution Sting in New Rochelle, 5 Arrests Made
Five people were arrested on prostitution- related offenses at the Green Rivage Spa, located at 514 Main Street on October 14, 2022.
- Sun Mi Hong, 70, of New York, NY
- Cuijuan Jia, 35, of Sorrento, LA
- Wen Min Gong, 45, address unknown
- Xiaona Hu, 47, of Queens, NY
- Julius Celentano, 71, of the Bronx, NY
Green Rivage Spa was back advertising today on bedpage.com a few days later.
The same woman, Sun Mi Hong, presumably the “madam”, was arrested a year earlier in a similar sting:
Prostitution Arrests Made in New Rochelle
Two people were arrested on prostitution- related offenses at the Green Rivage Spa, located at 514 Main Street on September 8th, 2021.
- Sun Mi Hong, 69, from Brooklyn, NY
- Yung Ling Xu, 41, from Queens, NY
There are now discussions at City Hall on what can be done to discourage brothels from operating in downtown New Rochelle. An agenda item on creating obstacles for brothels to re-open so soon after a raid is expected as soon as November.
