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South Asians lose jobs as New York mayor mounts offensive on sex stores

Arthur J Pais in New York

First came Walt Disney renovating an abandoned theatre that now proudly hosts its record-breaking show, The Lion King on a once notorious stretch of 42nd Street in New York's Manhattan.

The sleazy X-rated video, books, and peepshow stores were pushed out as other firms joined Disney in reclaiming the most notorious part of the 42nd Street which for over two and half decades have been dishing out sex with more speed than hamburgers and hotdogs in the 24-hour coffee shops.

As the sex shops began to move to other parts of the city about two years ago, over a hundred Indian, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans working there as sales clerks and cleaning boys breathed a sigh of relief. At least their jobs were safe.

About 30% of the workforce in the sex shops in New York is made of people from the Subcontinent. But now many of them are losing their jobs.

For over a year Mayor Rudolph Guiliani has been plotting against New York's X- rated businesses, with widespread support from residents in city districts including Queens and Brooklyn who do not want to have nude dancing parlours and X-rated shops in their midst. Several court appeals against his plans by shop owners and civil liberty associations have been turned down in recent months.

The mayor won several court victories this month, among them an approval of his plan to close down sex shops located within 500 yards of an existing shop, closing down shops near places of worship, schools and residential areas, and an order that dancers should wear at least bikinis. At least 50 shops have been closed. And many others have been moved to industrial parts of the city.

"I worked 15 hours a day, mopping dirty floors but I did not mind doing it because at the end of the month, I was able to send about $ 400 home to my mother," says S Parminder, who is in his 30s and who lost his job at a coffee shop when the new owners wanted only white waiters and kitchen boys.

"Now, the new place is so far away that I spend two hours reaching there, and there are not many customers, which means I cannot work a double shift."

Many of the books and video shops that are allowed to remain on business should have at least 50 per cent non-sex books and video right at the front.

"So this week, I have begun displaying old and new Hollywood movies, and romance novels and religious books," says V Ranjit. "Just a waste of time and place," he sighs. "People don't come to my shop to buy a Tom Hanks or Harrison Ford film; they want X-rated films."

Several movie houses that screened X-rated movies have also been closed down when undercover agents discovered that some patrons indulged in sex despite a much-advertised new law banning such activities.

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