Amsterdam To Close Many Of Its Brothels, Marijuana Cafes, Sex Shops

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Amsterdam unveiled plans Saturday to close brothels, sex shops and marijuana cafes in its ancient city center as part of a major effort to drive organized crime out of the tourist haven.

The city is targeting businesses that "generate criminality," including gambling parlors, and the so-called "coffee shops" where marijuana is sold openly. Also targeted are peep shows, massage parlors and souvenir shops used by drug dealers for money-laundering.

"I think that the new reality will be more in line with our image as a tolerant and crazy place, rather than a free zone for criminals" said Lodewijk Asscher, a city council member and one of the main proponents of the plan.

The news comes just one day after Amsterdam's mayor said he would search for loopholes in new rules laid down by the national government that would close marijuana cafes near schools citywide. The measures announced Saturday would affect about 36 coffee shops in the center itself _ a little less than 20 percent of the city total.

Asscher underlined that the city center will remain true to its freewheeling reputation.

"It'll be a place with 200 windows (for prostitutes) and 30 coffee shops, which you can't find anywhere else in the world _ very exciting, but also with cultural attractions," he said. "And you won't have to be embarrassed to say you came."

Under the plan announced Saturday, Amsterdam will spend euro30 million to euro40 million ($38 million to $51 million) to bring hotels, restaurants, art galleries and boutiques to the center. It will also build new underground parking areas.

Amsterdam already had plans to close many brothels and some coffee shops, but plans announced Saturday go further.

Asscher said the city would reshape the area, using zoning rules, buying out businesses and offering assistance to upgrade stores. The city has shut brothels and sex clubs in the past by relying on a law allowing the closure of businesses with bookkeeping irregularities.

Prostitution will be allowed only in two areas in the district _ notably De Wallen ("The Walls"), a web of streets and alleys around the city's medieval retaining dam walls. The area has been a center of prostitution since before the city's golden shipping age in the 1600s.

Prostitution was legalized in the Netherlands in 2000, formalizing a long-standing tolerance policy.

Marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but prosecutors won't press charges for possession of small amounts. Coffee shops are able to sell it openly.

Comments

[sfjohn]

Having visited many times I can say that the there is so much more to A'dam. The Van Gogh museum is a treasure; Once we went to the Riyksmuseum to see a show called "Treasures of the Golden Age" - I thought I was going to have a heart attack viewing THIRTEEN Rembrandts!! Amazing. And getting out of town to visit Haarlem, the kuikenhof (a beautiful 80 acre garden sponsored by the flower industry) Just beautiful. And the Dutch are friendly, sweet people.
Think I just talked myself into another trip!

[samiam4285]

Oh my goodness, YES. I've been to each and every place you named, the cultural opportunities are just wonderful. I'll never forget seeing "The Night Watch" for the first time. Visiting the palace was lovely as well. I think I might have to look at flights too :-)

[elcojonu]

Having been there a few times myself, it's great to walk down the sidewalks and admire the other
' Treasures ' the city has to offer.
The Dutch Rock.

[DannyEastVillage]

i loved the Rijksmuseum too--and remember the whole town seemingly being stoned. Sweet people. Of course, that was probably all tourists ;)

As a New Yorker I just want to point out for everybody that the Met has TWENTY (yes, twenty!) Rembrandts!

[orangepetal]

New York is amazing, so is Chicago.

[winningticket]

I love Amsterdam and I respect the changes that are taking place in Amsterdam. Just hope they don't close all the coffee shops. They were a great place to go and relax. I love Holland's transit system. It's so user friendly. I love Central Station, you go anywhere in the world from there. I will always cherish Amsterdam and all of the Netherlands.

[wltdnfaded]

Tell me they won't be getting rid of the CANNABIS CUP?????

[elcojonu]

That's were they draw the line !

[Hilodave]

Most of you posters aren't seeing the full picture here...pot and prostitution aren't going away, just becoming more regulated.­....Amster­dam is Europe's party town and the Dutch love the money that the weekend tourists bring, being the practical folks that they are. I love walking past those coffee shops with the smell of Cannabis in the air. It's true most Dutch don't frequent these shops they simply go and get take away and smoke in the privacy of there home...at least the Dutch I know. Oh, and the rest of the country is well worth the visit as well, Holland is a great country with very tall, polite if somewhat sardonic people...go now while the exchange rate is good.

[elcojonu]

If they go hard on these tourists, they'll go someplace else, maybe Copenhagen( I've had many a good times over there as well ).

[orangepetal]

I think most travelers and cities are going for a more artsy / classy / boutique style, I would think Amsterdam is just catering to this trend. I lived in Amsterdam and loved the bridges, buildings, open markets, bread, bicycles, etc. I remember we would have a place we could go for morning coffee to read the paper, for a sandwich for lunch, or to have a beer at night. There was always someone there. I remember the bicycles that we would buy from the junkies for 20 guilders every week so we could get home after ours were stolen. I remember how we would hop on the back of a friends bike. It was always about politics, religion, art, music, fun or food.

[GuyFawkes]

Want to end the recession and get more tax dollars? Legalize pot, prostitution, and increase Indian gambling, collect taxes on all of it, and bye bye economic downturn.

[Ramirez]

Nothing to it.

[Jeff1958]

Are you kidding?

Our prison system currently houses more criminals than any other country on the planet. People incarcerated for pot crimes account for a rather large percentage of our prison population. Legalizing would eliminate the crime, freeing hundreds of thousands (?) of "criminals." And it would reduce the need for our government to build prisons and staff them and unclog our court system for real crimes. That has the potential for serious monetary savings.

And the taxes collected by turning an underground ecomony into a taxable commodity like beer and cigarettes (and clothes and gas, etc.) would be huge. Whether you like it or not, taxes collected on billions of dollars of transactions would certainly be welcome to our terrible economy.

[NKR]

Yeah, because its all about money...who cares about all the negative effects that would bring?

[DrDemon]

What negative effects?

[NYCIC]

Ah, such memories of time spent in Amsterdam. Forget the women working behind those display windows, we were there for other things. It was only upon my next visit that a stop at hash cafes were combined with an appreciation of the art and culture of that splendid country. I'm glad my experience of Amsterdam didn't begin and end with getting high. Still, the lingering stupidity about weed in this country is, like most of the idiocy embraced here, bewildering.

[DACme]

Good for Amsterdam! I visited awhile back and felt the whole red light district was creepy. Amsterdam once had the reputation of a free city, but if you're into sex then the city pales by comparison to places like San Francisco. If you want drugs, you can get them anywhere in the world, so what's the point? Amsterdam is a beautiful city and the people are fantastic. They don't need these relics of the 1970's. Hooray!

[cornagainstsorcery]

I live in Amsterdam, my university is near the red light district, what's so creepy about it?

[DACme]

Women in windows? Come on!

[elcojonu]

Americans( specially from the South ) are known for their provinciality.
Don't mind them, we've just had a MAJOR election here and we're going to work on that problem. It's time we join the rest of the civilized world.

[Ramirez]

Unfortunately the Dutch culture will be gone within two generaations due to low birthrate and excessive emigration. A pity, and they will be missed.

[dutchman]

Not quite right - in the smaller towns Dutch culture prevails and will continue for decades to come. Rotterdam, of course, is the opposite - perhaps Europe's most worldly city, although Amsterdam is no slouch.

That said, having lived in Amsterdam for the last three years, I can tell you that one of its greatest charms is its cosmopolitan flavour. A country need not be homogenous to thrive and be a great place to be.

[Ramirez]

Well, as the Dutch would say... Inshallah.

[IowaGirl]

Well said. We lived in A'dam for a while and one of our greatest pleasures was spending Sat. at the Daaperstraat market (may have forgotten how to spell that!). The whole neighborhood, while diverse, was still mostly Arabic and the market was a rich place to shop and eat and stroll.

Yesterday, December 5, was the Big Day in the Dutch Xmas calendar because Sinterklaas arrives then on horseback, wearing a magnificent costume, in the city streets alongside the canals--the crowds are huge, and everyone is ecstatic. In our old Dutch neighborhood, he arrived at the kids' canalside school by motorboat while a band composed of Dutch parents serenaded him with brassy Xmas songs. The kids leaned out over the canal guard rails and screamed into the December winds with sheer hysteria. Wonderful memories! None of them having to do with women in glass windows, staring sadly and/or meanly out at the punters. It was never a good feeling to see those women, especially when there were lines of rowdy male tourists standing outside, usually drunk to keep up their courage.

[bluestatelib]

Who says "they will be missed"? By the time the old culture completely dies off, few people will even care. Nothing lasts forever.

[elcojonu]

' Dutch culture will be gone within two generations( 40 years ) due to........ '
That's a pretty ASSERTIVE statement.
Are you an expert on Dutch culture ?
What are you on ?

[rgmwdc]

I have long loved the Netherlands and I have been fortunate enough to have had many opportunities to spend time there and travel throughout the country. While I agree with their laze affair approach to prostitution and marijuana it has never been a reason for me to visit the Netherlands there is so much more to see than a coffee shop or the red light district. A close Dutch friend who lives in Amsterdam has told me the problems that are occurring in the city are the confluence of hooligans who are attracted to the soft drug laws and prostitution. These people become stoned and inebriated and pick fights on the streets and raise hell. Additionally, organized crimes, primarily from Eastern Europe and Russia, have moved in on the prostitution trade, and are engaging in human trafficking to fill the brothels with exploited labor. The Dutch are looking for a fine balance between toleration and quality of life.

[lisakaz2]

I don't get how you could visit Europe and not know that the accepted English spelling for the term is the same as the French: laissez faire.

[rgmwdc]

spelling is not a strong point but no need to be snobby.

[DACme]

The lady was, no doubt, a classmate of GW Bush.:)

[Ramirez]

Howdy ma'am.

You must be the new schoolmarm.

[NearlyNormalWarren]

Stoned and "picking a fight" don't go together where as drunk and "picking a fight" often do.

I hope - "The Dutch are looking for a fine balance between toleration and quality of life." is what is happening and not just the beginning of a moralistic crack down.

[rgmwdc]

I agree stoned people are peaceful but these folks are leaving the coffee shops to drink till they are wasted. the alcohol fuels the anger.

[NoDubya]

Yes, this story sounds bogus. People get stoned and are too lazy to do anything, let alone fight.

[hnealehcn]

I was there and saw an Indonesian pimp beating a Dutch john with a baseball bat and no one tried to recue the victim. I like Amsterdam but the red district is shame.

[elcojonu]

The John probably didn't wanna pay and gave him a hard time.
What would you have done ?
You've got to pay to play; it's a rule of the street.

[tantan75]

Say it ain't so, Amsterdam!!! Always wanted to go, but haven't been yet. Now, I guess I better hurry up before someome ruins it for everybody!

[goodgravy]

i loves me some A-dam coffee shops. "may i have an espresso and a gram of blonde moroccan hash, please?"

[Tomhere]

This is PR. They want all of you to come on over and enjoy it before it "goes away". If you have never been, let me tell you my opinion: Everyone is sitting around, "Whacked" out of their skulls. No one is dancing, or laughing, or having "fun". They're all in a cannabis-coma. They don't even have that "edge" that's produced by paranoia.! LOL....
Sorry, that's my view....

[dutchman]

No - they have been working to close "problem" coffee shops and windows for the last several years.

And you clearly didn't see much of Amsterdam if that's your opinion. Amsterdam has some of the best night spots in Europe.

Learn to get out more before making such uninformed statements.

Peace

Dutchman

[DoctorWhoDat]

There goes my retirement plans

[SabrinaFair]

I guess that decent women will finally be able to walk down the street through Amsterdam.

I understand why they are finally cracking down and think that it is great. A lot of men who go to visit the city think that anything goes, and that walking up to women while they are drunk and high, and being lewd and disgusting is something tolerable and what they should be doing while visiting Amsterdam.

I wish them good luck with cleaning it up. I'm not a prude. I think that the freedom and easy-going nature of Amsterdam is a good thing. But somethings need to go.

[GalaxieGal]

I did a lot of walking in Amsterdam and never experienced that nor did I see it happening to anyone else. I occasionally heard people offering to sell drugs or bicycles, but that was it.

It seemed that most people knew that you don't have to solicit random women, just find a window with the type they are looking for.