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Porn Shops Do Brisk Business During Storm

By Andrea Swalec | August 28, 2011 3:48am

HELL'S KITCHEN — Hurricane Irene has closed businesses across the city, but Eighth Avenue's 24-hour sex shops are vowing to stay open throughout the weekend.

Hunkering down makes Manhattanites frisky, adult store workers said Saturday evening. 

"There are no subways and everybody's going to be trapped where they're at, so why not make the best of it?" said Sean Willoughby, a sales associate at Gotham City at 687 Eighth Ave., which said their DVD sales had been higher than usual on Saturday. 

A customer leaving the store, which sells glow-in-the-dark condoms, said people trapped in their homes get bored. 

"There's nothing else to do but have sex and drink," a man walking out of Gotham City said. 

Eighth Avenue sex shop Gotham City had glow-in-the-dark-condoms on display as the city prepared for Hurricane Irene on Aug. 27, 2011.
Eighth Avenue sex shop Gotham City had glow-in-the-dark-condoms on display as the city prepared for Hurricane Irene on Aug. 27, 2011.
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DNAinfo/Andrea Swalec

An employee at DVD Depot, a few blocks north, said business had been steady. 

"This is what people want, to forget everything," Sarath Willath Gamuwa said. 

The manager of another location of Gotham City, at 781 Eighth Ave. said he was "amazed" by the number of customers who braved the impending storm to visit the 24-hour porn store.

"We’ve sold a lot of bedroom toys," Ferrero said. "In the event of any scenario where people are going to be behind closed doors, they’re going to find new ways to satisfy the urge."