Sorry if this has been discussed but I am clueless to news about it or the politics involved. When I was in the Dam last week Tanya on Goldbergsteeg told me that they are going to close her area, trompett, church area etc and keep windows to the canals only by summer next year or something like that. Is this actually true? Keeping it to the canals would be the worst thing to do to me. I much prefer the intamacy of the small alleys for conversation and privacy for both parties.

Yes. Every window outside Oudezijds Actherburgwal and immediately surrounding streets are due to close. It's all part of Project 1012 (link is pdf download) and has already started with around 15 windows closing in 2012. Others were allowed to open on Stoofsteeg, Oudekennessteeg and Oudezijds Achterburgwal to replace them though so the net number of windows hasn't decreased since the 2007/8 BIBOB closures. Although there are set out plans no one seems to know for definite if the rest of the closures will take place or exactly when.
Just to confuse matters more, 47 windows in various locations are endanger of closing for different reasons (Owner accused of not obeying rules to protect vulnerable women). This too is not 100% certain and appeals are likely.

Thanks for the informative answer. I think I actually remember her mentioning 47 windows.

The 47 windows are shown in this diagram

It's a damn shame. How many windows are there today? Once they are done implementing Project 1012, how many will there be remaining?

Any closures take place since March of 2014? Just curious because I'll be in Amsterdam in a couple days and I'm wondering if it has gotten any worse.

DB

Was told that bethlemsteeg and the covered area was closing at the end of this year..sad times :(

George, do you think after a lot of these closures? Their will still be many windows & many working girls??

I think in 10 years time there will be lots of very densely packed windows along OZA and neighbouring streets. If any in this area are forced to close in the coming months because the owner of the 47 loses his license then I believe someone else will be allowed to take them over. I think there will be less African ladies and the older women you see on OZA during the day because competition will be so high. I was told sometime ago about girls being offered money to give up their regular rooms. I can also see the Singel being a place where girls go when they can't get a room in the main area. I think it will slowly change to having younger prettier girls though I think it will only be a single street.
There's bound to be twists and turns none of us can predict but I am confident the RLDs will always be worth a visit.

I think a potential silver lining to all this, and I may be way off base here, but it's a thought I had, is that some of the rip off girls might leave for greener pastures, leaving us with a higher number of quality girls per capita. Girls like that are clearly only in it for the money anyway, if their rent starts going up, girls start being packed closer together so there's more competition, and their business starts to suffer, I think a lot of them will bugger off to some other place, or maybe go underground or switch over to escorting. Either way, we won't have to deal with them.

I think the girls who actually seem to enjoy their work are going to be the ones who are going to be more apt to stick around, whereas the rip off girls don't care and will just take their business elsewhere.

She stated the same to me. she was skeptical about moving to the canals..just like you and I, she likes the intimacy of the goldberger area..it's a shame..because that church area just reaks with "prostitute" ambiance, theatmosphere, the seclusion, the seedy part of thin alley ways.. its what one should expect of a "red light area", right?

I hope you are right but I fear the result will be the reverse. Ripoffs thrive in a sellers market not a buyers market. To the extent the area becomes compressed, or the window count goes down, the ratio of buyers to sellers will increase. Also ripoffs are pretty shameless and tend to be more robust to crowds streaming by. The more potential victims the better. The good providers tend to want an environment where their regulars are the most comfortable. That would lean towards the opposite of crowds of tourists streaming by.

In fact we already have empirical evidence of where ripoff workers prefer and where good providers prefer. Where are they now? It's not a coincidence.

So even if the window count stays the same, the distribution and layout will probably impact quality...for the worse I'm afraid.

What *may* happen, however, is that the good providers will seek out new comfort zones for their regulars, and we will see improvements in De Pijp and Singel.

You may very well be right about that. I could see it going either way.

I'm not that worried, though. I think there will always be some good fun to be had in De Wallen. I see the girls kind of like athletes, if you'll follow me here. Sooner or later, the greats all retire, but new superstars always rise up to take their place. Tyson and Ali are gone, but now we have Pacquiao and Mayweather. People always remember their old favorites more fondly, much like boxing, people claim that the "athletes" today can't hold a candle to the greats of yesteryear, but in actuality, if you look at boxing, the skill level of the athletes has arguably never been higher. Nostalgia is a very powerful thing.

There are probably quite a few girls in De Wallen waiting to be discovered. I would bet good money that there are at least a few girls working in De Wallen right now who us mongers will be raving about three or four years from now. I think there will always be at least a few truly great girls, in my opinion, the doom and gloom is a little overblown.

Update: the first six windows in Bethlemsteeg will close 31 December 2014. Goldbergersteeg will remain open for one, maybe three years.

The owner of the last two windows in Bethlemsteeg plus the covered area (Kamerverhuur Kim) is awaiting renewal of his license; a decision should be made this month.

Even if ‘Kim’ gets his license, it will be less attractive with the first part of Bethlemsteeg closed.

Any idea if they're re-opening windows elsewhere as they did on stoof a while back? It'll suck the life out of that area especially with the closures on tromp and dolle already, I just hope the covered area survives!

Any idea if the Bethlehemsteeg closures are still going ahead?? All I could find online - in English at least! Is this from april. https://www.transterramedia.com/media/33751

Yes, Bethlemsteeg 1-6 will be closed next week. Goldbergersteeg remains open at least one year. The decision for 'Kim' is postponed till January.

The plan is that Project 1012 must be completed in 2017, so another two, three years for the rest of the windows in the small streets?

Thanks OA, I'll have to organise another trip before they really rip the heart it of that area! Any idea when they are looking at closing the remainder on tromp, dolle, and St annen?? I bet la vie em proost will suffer with half of bethlehemsteeg closed

Not necessarily. Hopefully any window closure will be temporary and new brothel licenses will be issued to new owners. Closing windows does absolutely nothing to address supposed trafficking issues, in fact it makes things worse by forcing sex workers into other workplaces. The city used supposed sex trafficking as an excuse for Project 1012. George in his postings and YouTube page seems to lean more towards the anti-prostitution people.

Hi,

Are all the windows in Bethlemsteeg 1-6 which are the first ones closed now ?
And do the girls have news about working on other places and streets, such as OZA or somewhere else in the main RLD ?

So it appears the covered area will close, so where will Anna go? Honestly, she is one of the few I regularly visit anymore due to great service and the fact that I am always remembered by her.