Advertisement Neighbors post 'no hooking zone' sign near 40th, Robinson Area residents call prostitution a problem in area Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A billboard has declared the area near 40th Street and Robinson Avenue a “no-hooking zone.”People who live and work along South Robinson Avenue say prostitution is a problem in the area.“We even had, you know, the ladies walking around here on my street, and, I mean, my neighbors are mostly little kids and we didn’t like that. And a lot of people wanted to stop it,” said Cynthia Garcia, who lives in the area.Last week, the billboard appeared that reads “This is a no hooking zone.” Brian Bates of JohnTV said he started getting calls shortly afterward.“I didn’t notice it until I actually started receiving messages from people saying, ‘Hey, saw your billboard. Great job,’” Bates said. “And I’m like, ‘I don’t have a billboard. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’”The billboard company said neighbors who are upset with prostitution came together to purchase the billboard. Bates said it doesn’t address the real problem, but is a step in the right direction.“It’s always good when citizens come together and they tell the people that are infiltrating their neighborhood, ‘We’re not going to put up with this anymore,’” he said.Neighbors in the area said they haven’t seen any prostitutes in the area during the last week.“Now it’s, like, better and calm, and now we just enjoy being outside instead of seeing them walking around here, getting dropped off right here in front of our house. Yeah, that’s not something we like,” Garcia said.Officials with No Boundaries International said the billboard would be better if it directed women to resources for help and didn’t shame or threaten them.