Church Neighbors Unholy
By Jessica Ablamsky
The Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Whitestone has some pretty unorthodox neighbors.
Recent prostitution busts netted three ladies of the night working out of local rental houses, two women at 47-12 210th St. in Bayside, and one at 150-12 11th Ave., next door to the church, according to information from City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone). Police are investigating a third house in Auburndale.
“If they are related in businesses, we don’t know,” Halloran said. “As of now, this seems to be independent girls working in independent situations, so I don’t think that should concern people more than any other quality of life crimes.”
Tenants of the Bayside house have since been evicted.
“It’s very unusual to find this going on in residential houses,” Halloran said. “This is kind of a different take on an old problem, I suppose you could say. We’ve, of course, seen this throughout the city in massage parlors.”
The church was unaware of the situation, according to a source who did not wish to be identified, but neighbors in Bayside noticed the unusual activity.
“The ‘customers’ come and go all day and night,” said Michael McCormack in an e-mail to the Queens Tribune, before the eviction. “These men are fairly easy to spot. They come alone, usually park around the corner on 47th Avenue and walk to the house holding a cell phone to their ear.”
“I, for one, will not tolerate a whore house on my block,” he added. “My family has lived on this block for 50 years. I grew up here and together with my wife intend to raise our son here.”
Though the close timing of the arrests raises questions about potential links, Halloran said he is confident that the NYPD has the problem under control.
“The police department is on top of it and has always been on top of it,” he said.
Reach Reporter Jessica Ablamsky at jablamsky@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 124.