Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, an area under the jurisdiction of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is once more in the news.
As previously reported, Roosevelt Avenue, known as the “Avenue of the Sweethearts,” is currently infamous for all the criminal alien hookers lining the streets.
It’s become so infamous, in fact, that New York City (NYC) civic leaders are now calling for Gov. Kathy Hochul to deploy state troopers to help clean it up.
“It’s an urban crime zone and as a result, we have more brothels than bodegas,” the civic leaders, members of the group Let’s Improve Roosevelt Avenue, wrote in a letter to Hochul this Tuesday.
Today, the Let’s Improve Roosevelt Ave. coalition called on the Governor to send 100 NYS Troopers to assist the NYPD with the “Urban Crime Zone”, Roosevelt Avenue#SaveRooseveltAvenue pic.twitter.com/P5aR5zYEEP
— Hiram Monserrate (@HiramMonserrate) October 9, 2024
The leaders further warned that local police are “overwhelmed and understaffed” and that the area has been taken over by drug rings, shoplifting rings, human trafficking, pimps, and prostitutes.
They also slammed local officials.
“Most of our local elected officials want to legalize prostitution,” they wrote. “Some have voted to ‘defund the police.’ Others want to allow more unlicensed street vendors to operate even though we are already being overwhelmed by the tons of garbage they generate.”
Sound familiar?
Sex work is work.
The federal gov has done almost nothing to help people in months. We must pass stimulus checks, UI, small biz relief, hospital funding, etc.
Keep the focus of shame there, not on marginalizing people surviving a pandemic without help. https://t.co/eYib7310Rs
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 16, 2020
The letter was signed by Let’s Improve Roosevelt Avenue President Ramon Ramirez Baez and Hiram Monserrate, a Democrat district leader.
The letter was sent two days after around 200 locals, including members of Let’s Improve Roosevelt Avenue, gathered on the avenue to call for officials to take more action.
The rally reportedly took place steps from an illegal brothel that was raided in September but then reopened days later.
“Two days later they reopened,” Monserrate told local station WPIX. “We came here last night and they were here. The brothel on 90th Street near the school is still operating. We probably have about 50-60 active brothels and well over 100 women walking the streets and selling sex. The community is sick and tired of it.”
Today’s Community Rally to Rescue Roosevelt Avenue pic.twitter.com/zDOJN5T0jk
— Hiram Monserrate (@HiramMonserrate) October 6, 2024
Locals say the brothels are affecting their quality of life.
“The brothels used to be only at night but now they are in broad daylight,” resident Karen Abreu said. “There’s garbage and illegal vendors. It’s turning bad.”
“My teenage son and my grandson should not be exposed to prostitutes walking on 99th Street where they are two elementary schools,” resident Nelly Rodriguez added. “The City gets an F on their report card.”
The vendors Abreau mentioned include shoplifting rings that steal products and then resell them on the avenue.
“The flawed bail laws and the no arrest policy for shoplifting are killing our local shops,” local business owner John Vargas said. “Do our leaders want more shuttered storefronts?”
Thirty blocks of Roosevelt avenue in #NYC has become a red light district.
Children pass by the brothels daily on their way to school. pic.twitter.com/wWOtQVNmMc— The Daily Sneed™ (@Tr00peRR) November 2, 2023
According to the Jackson Heights Post, Monserrate for his part “presented a five-point plan to improve the area at Thursday’s event, calling for a huge expansion of police officers in the area who will be permanently assigned to patrolling Roosevelt Avenue and the surrounding area.”
“He also called for the boundaries of local precincts to be reconfigured so that all of Roosevelt Avenue would be under the command of one police precinct,” the local outlet notes. “He additionally called for multiple agencies to be engaged on the avenue, including the Department of Sanitation and the FDNY.”
He stressed that the most important element of the plan was more cops.
“Absolutely, you need more cops because you can’t do it without them,” he told the Post. “Anyone who espouses policies or political statements saying they could do it with fewer cops is either lying or just not in control of the facts.”
“You need the police officers to come here to issue the sentences to confiscate whatever they’re going to confiscate, to arrest people when they have to arrest people,” he added.
Today, our community stood in front of the infamous 24 hr. Bodega Brothel on 99th Street & Roosevelt Avenue across from 2 elementary schools. This is simple: #ShutItDown pic.twitter.com/ekZYeVto4l
— Hiram Monserrate (@HiramMonserrate) October 4, 2024
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
- Shocking verdict comes down in murder trial of NYC hero cop - April 2, 2026
- Shocking suspicions about who leaked sordid details on Kristi Noem’s fetish-prone cross-dressing husband - April 2, 2026
- Gov DeSantis calls for impeachment of local judge who let a convicted pedophile out to kill his stepdaughter - April 1, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.