Red lights dim in Amsterdam
2007-09-20 20:16
Amsterdam - About a third of
Amsterdam's red-lit windows for prostitutes will disappear from
the city centre as one of the main brothel owners is set to sell
his empire to a real estate company.
A housing company is to buy 18 premises - currently featuring
51 windows - for about €25m, Amsterdam
city council said.
Last November, the city revoked the trading licences of 33
brothels because they were suspected of criminal activities
including money laundering and drug dealing. However, the
brothel owners appealed successfully against the decision.
Tourist authorities acknowledge the 700-year-old red-light
district - a maze of narrow alleys and canals lined with sex
shops, prostitutes behind windows and marijuana-selling "coffee
shops" - is as much of a draw as other attractions such as the
Van Gogh museum or the Anne Frank House.
Mayor Job Cohen said he had no plans to rid Amsterdam of
prostitution, but the concentration of sex in the city centre was
too high.