The Penn Track in East New York, Brooklyn has been recognized as a bustling open-air sex market, with reports from The New York Post describing numerous encounters with sex workers soliciting clients near Pennsylvania Avenue. Locals and City Councilman Chris Banks have voiced disapproval, noticing an apparent increase in prostitution, along with the resultant trash such as used condoms littering the area. "We need the same attention the police department is paying to Roosevelt Avenue, to bring it out to East New York...to help address the issue," Banks told The Post.
Police records cited by The Post indicate that there have been 18 prostitution-related arrests on Penn Track through October 27, including 12 for patronizing prostitutes, a slight decrease from 19 during the same period in 2023. Concerns have been raised that many prostitutes are migrants from nearby shelters and are being exploited by pimps, with a women's advocate stating that "It's all pimp controlled" and "You can't work independently there." As per City Hall, Mayor Adams has also promised resources to tackle the issue, stressing that the exploitation of women is not to be tolerated or ignored, however, according to Banks, those promises have yet to be reflected on the ground.
Concurrently, ABC7NY covered the NYPD's operations against the illegal sex trade within the same neighborhood. NYPD views these women primarily as victims trapped in a cycle of abuse between ruthless pimps and compulsory quotas, their supposed autonomy obscured by the harrowing circumstances they face on the streets every day. Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry commented on the grim reality confronted by these women: "They're assaulting them, you know? They're afraid to get help."
As a part of the new strategy, NYPD has swept the area clean of vigilant pimps, allowing advocates to approach and offer assistance to the women employed in the sex trade—the focus has shifted towards addressing the demand, targeting the "sex buyers" that perpetuate this clandestine market. Ane Mathieson of Sanctuary for Families told ABC7NY, "For law enforcement to partner with us and say we agree, we're standing in solidarity, we want to convey this message that we recognize that the primary prevention here is to go after the demand." Recent police operations have resulted in several arrests, including that of sex buyers and the confiscation of illegal firearms, including one from a 13-year-old boy, showing the interconnection of sex trade and violent crime in the neighborhood.
These recent developments reflect a broader crackdown on sex trafficking around the "Penn Track." In August 2024, Ferron Facey, also known as “Azul,” “Blue,” “Royal” and “Royal Da P,” was charged with sex trafficking and interstate prostitution for coercing young women, including a minor, to engage in commercial sex work at the same location. According to the Eastern District of New York, Facey allegedly used threats of force and violence to maintain control over his victims, exemplifying the pervasive exploitation occurring in the area.
Similarly, another individual, Joel David Forney, was charged earlier in April 2024 with sex trafficking women and coercing minors at the Penn Track. As noted by the Eastern District of New York, the indictment demonstrated a pattern of using violence and threats to turn vulnerable women into commercial sex workers for his profit, exposing the sinister underbelly of the area's illegal sex trade.
