I grew in baltimore and this is nothing new , I am old skcool and north ave between charles and st paul has always been an gay pick up spot , most people that live in that area know this , I used to hang out at Odell's back in the day and everyone always knew that the gays like to hang out on charles and st paul street, so we stay away from there , Now of days , these DL man like to pick them up uncover you konw so it's best to look before you leap, And the people in those communities should keep an open eye and call the police when they see this.

Prostitution like simular industries only work if there is a customer base. Prostitutes would not flock from other communties as cited in the article if the demand for them was not so high in your neighborhood. Maybe the problem is not that there are prostitutes but that people in your community are giving them a reason to be there?

What REALLY needs to be addressed is why transgendered women need to flock to these areas to do these things. If there were a law that made discrimination of transgendered folks in the work place illegal, people would have an easier time finding work and being able to put food on the table. The fact that this article addresses these WOMEN as men says everything about America's point of view on the matter. My wife is transgendered. She didn't ASK to be that way, and wouldn't wish it on her worst enemy. She has not been able to find a decent job in over five years. Can you imagine what that must be like? Born in a body that doesn't match what you think and feel inside? It's a hell. It really is. And people won't hire her because of it. She's talented, smart, funny, charismatic. But people think because the outside doesn't match the inside, and she's trying to correct that, that she is a freak. If I weren't around to support her, she'd be on the streets too. I could never ask her to be what she is not, and that's effectively what has happened to these women. The world has asked them to be what they are not, and they could NOT cope with that ( no one would be able too.) It's not a lifestyle choice. It's an inborn disorder. STOP the discrimination, and prostitution rates will go down!

I lived on Capp St in San Francisco for several years. This street is known for prostitution, and the stories I could tell would make your hair stand on end. About 6 years ago, local residents became fed-up and there were several methods used. People went out in groups on the street and made their presence and opposition to the situation known. If you can't sleep, what else is there to do? Locals used spot lights to light the area. These were privately owned, put on rooftops or up high on buildings and usually protected by heavy metal mesh. The neighbors used their own video cams, and made it known to both prostitutes and local law enforcement that they were recording (DVD-Rs are cheap) and would be following up. The best possibility is to work together with law enforcement to resolve the problem, but we were not getting support. At points we had to make local law enforcement aware that we were going to hold them accountable...we requested badge numbers for the dispatch officer and the watch commander whenever a complaint was issued. When asked why, we intimated that we would cite these numbers in law suits that might be filed. Prostitution is the oldest profession, and will not end any time soon. It is time for government to recognize this fact and make provisions (Holland) for safe and monitored practice. Another point is that these moves are NIMBY (not in my back yard) in nature, and will only serve to move the activity to another area, usually nearby. Good luck.

OK- not to quibble about the rest of the story - but it was newsworthy that people own a phone or a car? Worse than that - I hear they have shoes!