Manhattan will no longer prosecute prostitution cases By (0) April 21 (UPI) -- Arrests for prostitution and unlicensed massage in Manhattan will no longer be prosecuted, District Attorney Cy Vance announced Wednesday. In a virtual appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court, Vance moved to dismiss 914 such cases in what his office said was an effort to reduce the number of "unnecessary future contacts" between individuals and the criminal justice system. Advertisement "Over the last decade we've learned from those with lived experience, and from our own experience on the ground: criminally prosecuting prostitution does not make us safer, and too often, achieves the opposite result by further marginalizing vulnerable New Yorkers," Vance said.