Trying to Block 'Prostitution Alley'

NE Residents Band Together to Combat Illegal Activities in Parker Street Area

Genelle Betsey, 43, has lived in a two-story, two-bedroom rowhouse on Parker Street NE since the early 1980s. But lately the dark alley behind her home has become a source of fear. She never can be sure who she will encounter when she takes out the trash.

"They stand right there," she said, pointing to a spot where prostitutes have plied their trade most every night. "And they don't even care if any of us are looking at them."

Except for the trains headed to and from Union Station a half-mile to the south, Parker Street is quiet during the day. From midnight to the first light of morning, however, the street and the alley behind it are commonly used as a "hotel for prostitutes," said Tony Richardson, Advisory Neighborhood Commission representative for Ward 6C05.

But not as readily as before.

Residents are engaging in a coordinated effort to eradicate Parker Street's illegal activity. Neighborhood watches and cleanups, of course, but more: They have traded news on online message boards and made PowerPoint presentations to police. They have guided city officials on tours and urged police to declare a series of "prostitution-free zones" in their neighborhood.

The residents are not claiming victory, but their actions are yielding positive results.

A public hearing on strategies to combat prostitution citywide will take place at noon tomorrow at the John A. Wilson Building. It comes after several Parker Street residents shared their frustration over the block's prostitution activity at an ANC meeting in September and berated D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) for not doing more to combat the problem.

Parker Street has been "under siege" for two years, said Richardson, who bought a house on Parker Street four years ago. He painted the walls, renovated the kitchen and landscaped his front lawn. But he cannot change the fact that his back door leads to "prostitution alley," as the neighbors call it.

He said his breaking point came this spring when a mother told him her 2-year-old son had nearly picked up a used condom.

"No one should have to live like this," Richardson said. "When a 2-year-old can't even go outside his house without walking over condoms, that's it."

He says his outspokenness on the issue has caused him to be targeted by prostitutes who deliberately choose his front stoop to sit on, using the reflection from his car's windows to primp. He said they have followed him as he walks to the Metro, glaring at him all the way.

Prostitution has long plagued many District neighborhoods. But with development over the past decade, much of the activity has shifted, particularly to areas that generate little foot and commercial traffic.