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In the Race
Now, here, you see, it takes all the blogging I can do to keep in the same place. If I want to get somewhere else, I must blog twice as fast as that! You see, I'm in the Red Queen's Race...
“Red Light” and Why “Boomgaard" Must Be Stopped
By Janet Evans
Thursday, May 15 2008, 09:23 PM
Before I begin this post, I would like to state that my main concern with the Boomgaard issue at this point isn’t the name, per se. Right now, it’s not Zizzo Group, either. It isn’t Zizzo’s fault they were hired. My main concern is the bad government behind this debacle.
The main issue is the gall of the Franklin-Oak Creek Joint Steering Committee to baptize the 27th Street Corridor with the name “Boomgaard,”and the Common Council’s of both cities blessing the christening without any input from the communities of Franklin and Oak Creek. Meeting minutes from the Steering Committee were not posted on a website to be viewed. Meeting dates were not posted in advance, even though meetings were planned weeks in advance. If these had been done in conjunction with each other, and the public had a clue as to what was going on, perhaps some public comment may have been given at Steering Committee meetings.
I question why at a minimum the 100 names that were chosen by the steering committee weren’t made public, at least for some basic input. Still worried that 100 URL’s would be purchased by an “unscrupulous” individual? Well, that would be $1,000. That’s a possibility. But you didn’t have to advertise the fact ahead of time that you were going to have a website for the Corridor. That didn’t occur to me, and I don’t believe it would have occurred to any other average person.
At any rate, I believe there was more to all this than is being said, and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Now on to my post….
“Red Light” Means Stop…and Why “Boomgaard Must Be Stopped”
Red-light district of Amsterdam
It has been submitted that the designation of “Boomgaard” as a label for a section of one of the Red-Light Districts of Amsterdam is a falsehood.
As far as I am concerned, there is no proof of this either way. I will tell you now, that I believe it could very well be a distant possibility.
I will also tell you, I believe there is no way in hell that the Franklin-Oak Creek Joint Steering Committee should retain the name Boomgaard District as the name for the 27th Street Corridor.
And this, is why….
Red-light district.
A red-light district is a neighborhood where prostitution and other businesses in the sex industry flourish. The term “red-light district” was first recorded in the United States in 1894 …get this…in an article in the Milwaukee Sentinel (September 10, 1894). Other mentions from the 1890s are numerous, and located all over the United States.
It’s said that the red lanterns carried by railway workers would be left outside brothels when the workers entered. That way if the workers needed to be located when the trains needed to move, they could be easily found. Others attribute the red lanterns back to ancient China and where sensual red paper lanterns were hung outside.
The color red has been associated with prostitution for millennia: in Biblical story of Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho aided the spies of Joshua and identified her house with a scarlet rope. During World War I there were many brothels in Belgium and France; blue lights were used to indicate brothels for officers, red lights for other ranks.
In different cultures red-light districts are identified differently, the most common being “district of prostitutes.”
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The largest and best-known red-light district in Amsterdam….
De Wallen
Also known as Walletjes, it is a major tourist attraction and is located in the heart of the oldest part of Amsterdam. It covers several blocks south of the church Oude Kerk and is crossed by several canals.
De Wallen is a network of alleys containing several hundred tiny one-room apartments rented by females (and some “ladyboys”) who offer their services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights. The area also has a number of sex shops, sex theaters, peep shows, a sex museum, a cannabis museum, and a number of coffee shops that sell marijuana.
De Wallen, together with the prostitution areas Singelgebied and Ruysdaelkade, form Rosse Buurt (red light areas) of Amsterdam.
Location
The total area is approximately 6500 square, meters, limited by the Niezel in the north, the sea dike/Nieuwmarkt in the east, the Saint Jansstraat in the south and the Warmoesstraat in the west. Prostitution takes place within this area in the following streets:
Bloedstraat, BOOMSTEEG, Dollebegijnensteeg, Enge Kerksteeg, Goldbergersteeg, Gordijnenstee, Molenstee, Monnikenstraat, Oudekerksplein, Oudekennissteeg, Oudezijds Achterburgwal, Oudezijds Boorburgwal, Sint Annendwarsstraat, Sint Annenstraat, Stoofsteeg and Trompettersteeg.
Map of De Wallen
Organization
Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, with the exception of streetwalking. However, only EU citizens can work legally in the sex industry, since no working permits are given for prostitution. While health and social services are readily available, sex workers are not required to undergo regular health checks. A study conducted before 2006 found that about seven percent of all Dutch prostitutes (including street prostitutes) have HIV/AIDS.
City authorities are concerned about reports of pimping and human trafficking in the area, although to what extent is uncertain.
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Above, I stated the following:
It has been submitted that the designation of “Boomgaard” as a label for a section of one of the Red-Light Districts of Amsterdam is a falsehood.
As far as I am concerned, there is no proof of this either way. I will tell you now, that I believe it could very well be a distant possibility.
I will also tell you, I believe there is no way in hell that the Franklin-Oak Creek Joint Steering Committee should retain the name Boomgaard District as the name for the 27th Street Corridor. And this, is why….
I believe the street “Boomsteeg” could very well have been confused with “Boomgaard.” If that is, in fact, not the case, I believe since there is, in fact, an actual street in Amsterdam, in the largest red-light district, named Boomsteeg, it is just too closely related to the name Boomgaard for us to disregard.
I have no idea what Boomsteeg means. I don’t even care what it means. It doesn’t matter at this point. I just know that this whole “Dutch,” “Amsterdam,” business has no place being used in relation to the 27th Street Corridor. Do we really want this stigma to be connected to Franklin-Oak Creek for all time?
I drive up and down 27th Street four times a day during the week. The only apple trees I see are a few landscape Chinese crab apple trees that were planted last year. Unless a billboard or monument is put up with the history of the apple “orchards” that once graced old 27th Street or Ryan Road, who will ever know what our Steering Committee had in mind when they made their landmark decision behind closed doors? People will always ask what “Boomgaard” means. I have no doubt about that. There will always be multiple answers.
So, I say scrap it.
You want to attract “international business” to 27th Street?
***Newsflash***
When you visit another country you don’t want to eat the same food you have in your homeland. You want to try new things. If businesses want to come to the U.S. let them invest in American.
We need an American name.
That’s what we need for the 27th Street Corridor.
Wake up, Franklin-Oak Creek Joint 27th Street Steering Committee!
This advice was 100% FREE.
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Resources
Amsterdam Red Light District turns spotlight on its practice
Red Light District holds 2nd annual Open Day
Amsterdam's Red Lights: about to go out?
Information was gathered from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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