Scattering the Pigeons

NEW YORK Scattering the Pigeons Once, in a blushing euphemism, they were known as "ladies of the night." Today they are called hookers, and in Manhattan, at any rate, their activities are not confined to the dark hours. Both in broad daylight and the neon night, they flash the pink, orange and purple hot pants of the Aquarian Age, not to mention the high boots that were once a specialty of their profession and are now merely fashionable. In the spring they sprout from the sidewalks, squawking, cackling and ogling potential customers, fanning out from the bawd-walk they have made Times Square.

This year New York's prostitutes seemed particularly blatant. Growing numbers of businessmen, tourists and residents have complained of being verbally and sometimes physically harassed. Earlier this year a man was murdered by hookers outside the Hilton Hotel when he shunned their advances. Another, a former West German Cabinet member, was robbed by a team of girls.

Pimp Squad. In retaliation two weeks ago, a judge in the city's criminal court took the unprecedented action of holding two alleged hookers without bail, explaining that "the midtown area was inundated with prostitution." The girls received some unexpected support: Women's Liberationists quickly picketed the courthouse, protesting female exploitation. But the resultant publicity could not have been better for Mayor John Lindsay, who was at the same time launching the city's ritual annual crackdown on the sidewalk sirens.

With customary elan, the police joined the fray. Captain Daniel McGowan of the Public Morals Task Force was assigned to the new post of "Director of Prostitution Control." Patrols in the area were beefed up with plainclothesmen borrowed from the gambling detail and men of the mobile Tactical Patrol Force, many armed with cameras to capture the girls in the act of soliciting. There were also efforts to discourage, through arrests, the live sex shows that complement the streetside spectacle, and some talk, mostly just that, of prosecuting "Johns," as the girls call their customers. Finally, the police established a special "pimp squad" to tackle the problem at one of its sources. Faced with harassment from all sides, the birds took flight.

Tide of Nature. Many of the more affluent--some of the girls make an estimated $300 and up a day--set off for the healthier climes of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta. Others began testing the more gentle currents of Manhattan's East Side. A goodly number simply stayed home in bed, enjoying the holiday.

The results were briefly miraculous. For all of two days last week. New Yorkers were treated to the rare sight of a virtually hookerless Times Square. Gone also were the "pimpmobiles," the gaudy cars of the girls' "managers." The place seemed eerily empty and colorless. Even more curious was the situation in the courts. For the first time in 15 years, a day passed without a single arraignment for prostitution. "We usually have 75 to 80 prostitutes in here every day,"' said an unbelieving court clerk. "Today we had none."

The crackdown, all agreed, was the most spectacular in recent years. Newspapers had a field day. Reformers experienced the self-righteous glow of success. But like most efforts to stem the tide of human nature and commerce, the effort was ultimately doomed. By week's end many of the girls were back at their posts, dodging police patrols with gazelle-like speed, if not grace, and immersed once more in their work.

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