“Here comes this guy who treats the boy special,” he said. Officer Harold Schiffer of the pubiic‐morals division, who has worked the “chicken‐hawk” detail for a year, said many of the boys were attracted to Times Square by the bright lights and flashing games. Often they are hungry, lonely and fatherless, the police say and fall prey to men who offer affection and money-usually about $20. Most of the boys are 10 to 15 years old, Hispanic or black and from poor families in Harlem, the Bronx or Brooklyn some are white and from middle‐class families. Many of the “hawks” are white, middle‐class men who drive in from the suburbs. “I got a lot of friends on my block who come to me and say, ‘Let's go downtown and make some money,’ but I just come to play the machines,” said the 15‐ year‐old.Īccording to the police, prostitution involving young boys is growing in and around Times Square.
