sex and the borough:
A User Friendly Guide

Sex and love making are the topics of kitchen table conversations, class room lectures, whispers between friends and serious medical discussion throughout the daily life of the world. The Tribune took a look this week into just a few of the voices to be heard in Queens on sex and the borough. 

The Expert Voice:
Medical Minds On Happy Sex

By BEN ABELSON

Honesty, trust and relaxation are the keys to a happy and healthy sex life, according to local medical experts who talked to the Tribune about the best ways to build an intimate relationship.

Many times, when couples are having difficulty in their sex life, it reflects problems in other aspects of their relationship, according to Dr. Leonard Tuzman, director of Social Work at The Zucker Hillside Hospital.  “It’s not too often that people are just having problems sexually, there’s often some other problems going on,” he said. 

Dr. Burshan Khashu, director of the Men’s Heath Center for the North Shore University/Long Island Jewish Healthcare System, agreed.  “The couple can have marital discord, problems with communication. . . the idea is to develop a treatment plan for those suffering from a non-physical disorder through the help of a therapist or a sex counselor,” he said.

However, poor sexual interactions can be damaging to even the healthiest of relationships, Tuzman explained.

First and foremost among the keys to pleasurable sex is open and honest communication between partners.  “I think people need to have reached the level of maturity to the extent that they don’t use the bedroom as a battleground.  There needs to be some agreement amongst couples that sexuality is part of being intimate, and there needs to be a recognition that the people’s needs are not exactly the same,” Tuzman said. “Frank, honest communication about what they do and don’t want – what makes them feel good and what doesn’t – is the key.”

Honest communication can really only develop when sexual relations occur between two individuals in a committed relationship.  So, for a variety of psychological reasons, sex from a one-night stand will never be as good as that found in a monogamous relationship.  “It requires that people get to know each both physically and emotionally, so they can both enjoy the pleasure of the actual sexual experience, leading to and including orgasm,” Tuzman added.

Stress from other aspects of life can definitely hamper love-making, Tuzman noted, and it’s important to relax and “get lost” in the moment.  “Sex should be a joyous, exploratory, pleasurable, intimate experience…it’s one of the few opportunities people have to be alone and be totally involved with one another.”  While sex is a great stress reducer, according to Tuzman, making love should not always be attempted at times of especially high stress.

“People need to recognize that the stress that they have outside of their intimate moments can effect the pleasure that they have while making love.  If you really had a bad day at the office, it might not be the best time to make love,” he said.

According to Tuzman, many couples have trouble setting aside time to be intimate.  If you fall into that category, it’s imperative to actually schedule – if necessary – intimate time.  “Schedule a night out, another environment.  Go to a hotel or take a long weekend.  Keep the romance alive, as the commercials say.”

Most importantly, Tuzman stressed, if there are any performance issues hampering your sexual relationship “don’t let too much time go by before you talk about it” and get some professional help.  “Most of the dysfunctions people have can be corrected.”

Impotency, or erectile dysfunction, occurs when there are problems with blood flow into the chambers of the penis, according to Khashu.  Viagra can help about 80-85 percent of all erectile dysfunction sufferers, and has been a revolutionary drug in helping couples maintain an active sex life.  It’s also erased much of the stigma associated with erectile dysfunction. 

“It’s freed people to acknowledge that it’s a problem that’s relatively common,” Tuzman said.  “We know a lot more of how to help the problems of sexual dysfunction.”  Those patients suffering from erectile dysfunction who are not helped by Viagra can often get assistance through several other available medical treatments, including drug injections and a manually operated vacuum pump.  Surgical installation of a “penile implant,” is only used as a last result, according to Kashu, but does have an enormously high success rate.

Beyond impotency, the two biggest problems that restrict a healthy sex life are premature ejaculation and vaginismus, an involuntary contraction of the vagina that Tuzman described as “when a woman is particularly tight and has a lot of pain during sex.”  These problems can have both medical and psychological bases, but can be solved by either a medical doctor or sex therapist, depending on their origin.

Finding The Right Motel
For A Short Stay Experience

By Angela Montefinise

Sometimes, after spending an enchanted evening of dinner and dancing together, Queens lovebirds find they need a private place to whisper sweet nothings into each other’s ears, and when that need arises, the borough’s motels oblige with hourly rates, oversized hot tubs, and mirrors in all kinds of crazy places.

Legendary in Queens folklore, the Kew Motor Inn with specialty designs like the “New York Skyline Room” to spend a few special hours together. Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen

But finding the right place to quickly ignite an evening romance isn’t always easy for Queens couples, who may be on a budget, may be unsure of what various motels have to offer, or may be embarrassed to ask about hourly rates.

One place where every couple is welcome is the Kew Motor Inn in Kew Gardens Hills, a spot where Queensites have been going for decades to spend a few hours in sheer ecstasy. The motel’s ad in the Yellow Pages says it all: “For your pleasure . . . The Kew Motor Inn.”

A matter of legend in Queens folklore, the motel includes a restaurant and cocktail lounge, features all kinds of interestingly designed rooms for the borough’s adventurous couples, including Cupid’s Room, the Waterfall Room, the Love Nest, the Safari Room, Oriental Delight, Southwestern Oasis, the New York Skyline Room, and Arabian Nights. The rooms have colored lighting and fancy decor to make the experience as pleasant as possible. The motel also boasts king-sized beds, waterbeds, and mirrored rooms.

Rates at the Kew Motor Inn range from $38 to $50 for a minimum of three hours – a price that is about the average for hourly motels throughout Queens. Most short stay motels charge between $35 and $50 for a minimum of between three and five hours. That’s much cheaper than the between $55 and $100 that Manhattan motels charge.

But the question that most Queens couples ask is how they can find the motels that accommodate lovers looking for an exciting evening. A quick look through the “Hotels-Motels” section of the phone book will answer that immediately. Many motels subtly advertise hourly rates with such terminology as “special day and evening rates,” or “king, sized beds available.”

Others have photos of couples happily smiling at each other or holding hands as they enter a spacious room for an evening of fun. Two Queens motels – Crossbay Motor Inn in Ozone Park and the Kew Motor Inn – actually have the same picture of a scantily clad couple about to kiss while grinning ear to ear. Crossbay also calls itself “Your Home Away from Home,” and charges $40 for four hours.

Some motels aren’t so subtle, and use blatant language to advertise their short stay options. The Capri Whitestone Motel, which charges rates of $40 for four hours, advertises “fantasy rooms,” and uses the slogan, “Your privacy is our concern.” Waterfront Views in Howard Beach, which charges $50 for five hours, advertises, “full and short stay rates available,” “whirlpool and waterbed rooms available,” and “floor to ceiling mirrors.” The Haven Motel in Woodhaven, which charges $40 for four hours, advertises “Short stay rates” and “newly decorated rooms.”

The New Boulevard Motor Inn in Elmhurst, which charges $40 for four hours and features round beds, uses a photo of a couple dreamily looking into each others eyes with the words, “couple oriented” underneath, while the Windjammer Motor Inn in Brooklyn advertises, “large rooms,” “secluded parking,” “mirrored ceilings,” and “jacuzzi rooms.” The Windjammer, which is a short drive from Queens, charges $45 for four hours.

This is just a small sampling of the hundreds of short stay motels in Queens, which all accept credit cards and usually don’t ask questions. A manager at one motel, who didn’t want his name mentioned, told the Tribune that couples, “shouldn’t be embarrassed,” to ask for a room because, “that’s what we make money on.” He also said, when looking for a motel, to stay away from places advertised in the phone book as “conference centers,” or “corporate.” He said, “Those usually aren’t looking for couple clientele.”

Adults Only:
Queens’s Entertainment Industry
Bends With The Rules  

By BEN ABELSON

Since Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s administration regulated the adult entertainment business in 1995, the nature of the business has been moved and changed in Queens, and as legal battles continue to define what residential areas should allow, strip clubs are still finding a home and thriving business in borough.

The 1995 rules prohibited adult businesses from “locating within residential and neigborhood retail areas, and within 500 feet of schools, day care centers, houses of worship, or any other adult establishment.”  On the surface, it appeared that these regulations would force Queens’ strip clubs into industrial neighborhoods in Long Island City, or, interestingly, places like the College Point Corporate Park. 

However, owners of adult entertainment establishments put their lawyers to work to protect their business and a loophole in the very strict wording was found: now simply called the “60-40 rule.” 

The City zoning code had identified an adult business as one where a “substantial portion” of the premises were used for “adult” purposes — which a court ruling defined as more than 40 percent of the floor space.  This allowed businesses that devoted less than 40 percent of their floor space to “non-adult” activities to remain open, even in zones that allowed residential buildings. Many Queens clubs have since redesigned their interiors.

However, in August of 2001, the City Planning Commission (CPC) approved amendments to the zoning regulations that would close the rule that allowed the majority of Queens’ adult businesses to stay open.   A Manhattan club called “Tens” is currently challenging the new zoning rules in Manhattan Supreme Court, but barring their victory, the end-game for Queens’ adult hot spots is rapidly closing in. According to a CPC spokesperson, all adult facilities must comply with the new rules by Nov. 1, or be shut down. And the new rules hold a standard of an on-site inspector’s observation as the determination of whether or not a business is an “adult entertainment establishment” – eliminating the measurement definition.

The Tribune stopped in to one of Queens’ more famous “gentleman’s clubs” — Wiggles, in Rego Park, which made headlines for its proximity to homes and synagogues and was on target for a line of protest that stopped traffic along Queens Boulevard prior to the 1995 regulations.

The heavy, metal-plated, exterior doors squeaked open into a long, twisting corridor, leading to a large room occupied by two lonely pool tables – a sign of the changes made to the club since the new square foot usage regulation. 

The main dancing room appears small, but is surrounded by more mirrors than are in the Palace of Versailles, which gives it an illusion of size.  The minimum age at Wiggles is 18, and due to restrictive City codes, they serve only non-alcoholic drinks. For $5, guests can have their choice of bottled water, juice, or O’Douls.

The chest-high stage fills the center of the room, which is lined with smaller tables around its perimeter.  Bar stools encircle the raised platform, where the girls dance around two poles under a mirrored-ceiling.  Admission is waived during happy hour, it’s normally $10 – with a two-drink minimum.

Those in search of adult entertainment in Queens have a variety of options: topless strip clubs, all-nude clubs and adult book and video stores. One thing’s for sure: despite the government’s best efforts, sex is definitely still for sale in Queens.

GoldFingers in Rego Park, one popular adult entertainment hotspot, still attracts patrons to its doors, despite the City’s crackdown over the years.
Tribune Photos By Ira Cohen

Wiggles in Rego Park is still open for business, thanks to a loophole in zoning regulations.

Sex And The Law:
The Oldest Profession At Home In Queens  

By Liz Goff

It may be the world’s oldest profession, and nestled between the apartment buildings and multi-family homes of Queens, brothels continue to meet the consumer demand while civic organizations and vice squads look to shut them down.

In the most ethnically diverse county on the planet, prostitution has molded to fit the neighborhood and the immigrant population. Many women find passage to New York City includes time working in a brothel and in the more industrial areas of Queens, prostitution keeps much to the stereotypical “street walker” . . . though in one police bust a would-be customer (a “john”) tried to pick up the undercover cop while riding his bicycle.

Even the constraints of parking can effect the trade, as law enforcement officials look for the issues that surround prostitution to take the profit out of the Queens business. Summons and building violations are the tools used to rack up the cost of doing business, but it is hard to fight the overwhelming profits some brothels collect.

Flushing is home mostly to massage parlors, often with new immigrant women working off huge debts they incurred traveling to the United States.

Streetwalkers frequent Prince Street in Flushing, where they are protected by “enforcers.”

Roosevelt Avenue was a prostitution playground until special teams of cops and prosecutors shut down most of the brothels on the strip.

Maspeth and Astoria have something in common in the style of prostitution, as practitioners pick up ‘johns’ and go with them to nearby motels.

The going rate for sex with a streetwalker has increased in the last three years, police said.

Oral sex currently costs $15, intercourse $30. Patrons must buy a condom for $1. However, prices vary with independent prostitutes, police said.

Time in a Queens brothel can cost between $40 to $80 an hour, depending on the services provided.

For a Tribune story on prostitution enforcement efforts in 2000, Queens Assistant District Anthony M. Communiello, Jr. explained the Queens prostitution business profile.

According to Communiello, brothel prostitution is heavy in the Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and Corona areas.

Street prostitution gravitates toward Queensbridge, Long Island City and Queens Plaza, he said.

The brothels will look rather quiet from the outside. Some feature legal businesses, others are strictly residential buildings, and the brothel “manager” may only be another tenant.

A lookout, or “doorman,” is the first line of defense at the door.

Once a customer makes it inside, they may now be required to take a shower with the manager, Communiello reported, because law enforcement activities have been so bad for business that it takes this legal strip down to insure an undercover cop has not just entered the premises.

Some prostitutes work independently, other managers will have twenty women working for them. These women will have “punch cards” which are punched with every new customer that they see. At the end of the day, the manager can tell how much he has to pay his employee by how many punches there are on these cards, Communiello said.

Communiello explained that the illegal act itself is the exchange of sex for money.

“Sex for anything else is not illegal,” he said, and as a result it is difficult to prove someone is engaging in prostitution unless an undercover operation catches offer of a business transaction on tape or a former customer is willing to testify to the illegal purchase.

Therefore, Communiello’s Civil Enforcement Bureau was using the Nussiance Abatement Laws, civil lawsuits and the Bawdy House Statute to address the quality of life issues involved with prostitution. Communiello explained that the Bawdy House Statute holds a landlord responsible for evicting a tenant if it is shown “by a preponderance of the evidence” that illegal activity is taking place.

Police in Queens have made more than 1,200 prostitution and prostitution-related arrests in the last 12 months, authorities said.

— Tamara Hartman contributed to this story

Sex And The City
A Match Made In Queens

Who says Queens isn’t sexy?

As a matter of fact, the city’s biggest borough is also home to the production of one of television’s randiest shows – the HBO smash hit “Sex And The City.”

The show is put together at Long Island City’s Silvercup Studios.

Silvercup’s first studio was opened in 1983 in the former “flour silo room” of what was once the Silvercup Bakery.

It has grown into the largest independent, film and television production facility in the northeastern United States.

The HBO hit “The Sopranos” is also filmed there.

Among the major motion pictures that have been filmed at Silvercup’s are  “Godfather III,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Broadway Danny Rose,” “Working Girl,” “First Knight,” “Men In Black,” and many others.

— Stephen McGuire

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