Boy racers a bother at brothel

A Dunedin City Council car park is turning into a boy racer party zone on Friday and Saturday...
A Dunedin City Council car park is turning into a boy racer party zone on Friday and Saturday nights, angering management of nearby brothel La Maison. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
Boy racers have terrorised staff and clients at an inner city brothel with their out-of-control behaviour in a Dunedin City Council car park.

La Maison director Teena Ingersoll said she had made "a horrendous amount of 111 calls, probably every weekend for the last eight years".

"It is disgusting, it is absolutely disgusting."

The behaviour included drinking and smashing bottles, discarding the contents of a sanitary disposal unit from a nearby public toilet, hurling verbal abuse at clients and staff, and defecating and urinating around the Queens Gardens-based property.

"I often see men intending to see the women, turn around and walk away ... who can blame them?"

In one of the worst instances, police were called earlier this month after a group repeatedly turned the business' light off.

While she waited for police, a young man exposed himself and urinated to the side of the doorway, he then challenged Ms Ingersoll to "do something about it" before driving off with his mates, while hanging out the window, banging the roof.

"Some even have the brass to come upstairs and they ask the most disgusting questions ... I wouldn't even want to be quoted to tell you what they say."

The boy racers and their female counterparts parked in the Dunedin City Council car park in front of the building and the occupants of up to 20 cars would congregate at the front or side of the brothel.

"Females can be the worst. They can say some very unpleasant comments," she said.

Ms Ingersoll said she did not use security and asked why she should be out of pocket. Instead, she had approached police and the DCC for a solution to the problem.

The brothel and car park were inside the liquor ban area, but the boy racers continued to park and drink, leaving behind smashed glass, which she regularly swept up.

Concerned parties met last week. A chain locking the car park late at night was a suggestion, she said.

Senior Sergeant Steve Aitken confirmed patrols had been increased in the area in recent weeks.

"On Friday and Saturday nights, we have tasked patrols and community patrols to the area, to monitor what is going on, and move them along."

Police were in talks with the DCC.

Liquor ban signs and judder bars were possible deterrents, he said.

Kevin Thompson, of the DCC, said council staff would meet police today to seek a solution, which might include locking the car park at night.

hamish.mcneilly@odt.co.nz

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement