West Village residents are asking the new Manhattan DA to take a “tough love” approach against prostitutes working their neighborhood.
In a recent letter to the office of newly elected Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr., Community Board 2 asked for harsher penalties against repeat offenders.
“With sex workers on every corner — which they are on every weekend night in the far West Village — residents don’t feel safe and are frequently disturbed,” according to the letter.
According to police, the NYPD made 183 prostitution-related arrests in the Sixth Precinct last year, targeting hookers as well as their johns in undercover stings.
So far this year, police have made 59 arrests for prostitution-related offenses, and, they caution, as the weather heats up, so will the curbside sex trade.
“They are getting arrested, and there is no long-term penalty,” said one high-ranking police source.