Kenny Guido
Well-known member
Seedy Queens club made us slaves, dancers claim
BY RICH SCHAPIRO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, April 10th 2008, 4:00 AM
Giancarli for News Worker arrives at Flamingo Club, a popular Queens club where women get paid $2 a song to dance with patrons.
The Flamingo is famed in its Queens neighborhood as a place for lonely men to dance with scantily clad beauties for just $2 a song.
But several former dancers at the Jackson Heights night club allege they were treated like virtual slaves - forced to work hundreds of hours a week without pay and to endure abuse and humiliation by the owners.
In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit expected to be filed today, several former dancers, bartenders and waiters contend dance hall owners Edith D'Angelo and her husband, Luis Ruiz, violated labor laws and treated them inhumanely, according to Make the Road New York, a community organization representing the employees.
"[Ruiz] would insult the women by calling us 'whore' or 'prostitute,' and he would throw drinks and alcohol on our bodies," a former dancer said in an affidavit obtained by the Daily News.
The dancers also say they were:
Not allowed to sit down, eat or drink water during shifts of 10 or more hours.
Made to change in rooms that were under video surveillance.
Ordered to have bar managers inspect their toilets after each use to make sure they didn't use too much toilet paper.
Forced to repeat humiliating statements about themselves during meetings, such as, "I am fat and ugly. I am the reason that Flamingo is losing business."
"It is an outrage and it's shameful the way these women have been treated," said Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens). "To me, it's shocking that these sort of labor practices are happening in America in the 21st century."
Dancers at the Roosevelt Ave. hot spot have to pay the house to work there - $11 each night. They are fined $10 for each half-hour they're late and are forced to pay $70 if they call in sick, former dancers said.
Each night, the young women dress in different outfits - sometimes only in bikinis or lacy pajamas - and offer to dance salsa, bachata or cumbia with men for $2 a song or $40 an hour.
City officials said the working conditions violated labor laws, city officials said.
Outside the club yesterday, bar manager Aridio Herrera was unapologetic.
"We didn't do anything wrong," Herrera, 29, said. "Our customers don't speak any English, so we don't care if it's in the paper."
BY RICH SCHAPIRO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, April 10th 2008, 4:00 AM
The Flamingo is famed in its Queens neighborhood as a place for lonely men to dance with scantily clad beauties for just $2 a song.
But several former dancers at the Jackson Heights night club allege they were treated like virtual slaves - forced to work hundreds of hours a week without pay and to endure abuse and humiliation by the owners.
In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit expected to be filed today, several former dancers, bartenders and waiters contend dance hall owners Edith D'Angelo and her husband, Luis Ruiz, violated labor laws and treated them inhumanely, according to Make the Road New York, a community organization representing the employees.
"[Ruiz] would insult the women by calling us 'whore' or 'prostitute,' and he would throw drinks and alcohol on our bodies," a former dancer said in an affidavit obtained by the Daily News.
The dancers also say they were:
Not allowed to sit down, eat or drink water during shifts of 10 or more hours.
Made to change in rooms that were under video surveillance.
Ordered to have bar managers inspect their toilets after each use to make sure they didn't use too much toilet paper.
Forced to repeat humiliating statements about themselves during meetings, such as, "I am fat and ugly. I am the reason that Flamingo is losing business."
"It is an outrage and it's shameful the way these women have been treated," said Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens). "To me, it's shocking that these sort of labor practices are happening in America in the 21st century."
Dancers at the Roosevelt Ave. hot spot have to pay the house to work there - $11 each night. They are fined $10 for each half-hour they're late and are forced to pay $70 if they call in sick, former dancers said.
Each night, the young women dress in different outfits - sometimes only in bikinis or lacy pajamas - and offer to dance salsa, bachata or cumbia with men for $2 a song or $40 an hour.
City officials said the working conditions violated labor laws, city officials said.
Outside the club yesterday, bar manager Aridio Herrera was unapologetic.
"We didn't do anything wrong," Herrera, 29, said. "Our customers don't speak any English, so we don't care if it's in the paper."
