Queens, New York – On Tuesday, chaos erupted in Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's New York City district. A Democratic politician who supported a recent police crackdown on illegal sex work plaguing the region has been kicked out of the public square.
Hiram Monserrate, a former New York state senator and candidate for the state House of Representatives, was giving media interviews praising police when rioters who had been holding a rally calling for the NYPD and state police to end the shutdown They were attacked by angry demonstrators. This includes not only brothels but also illegal street vendors who sell hot food and flog other goods without permission.
Queens is well known as a “red light” district, with some residents likening the unsanitary and seedy conditions to a “third world” country.
Demonstrators say residents must accept prostitution and hawking as a means of subsistence in their neighborhoods.
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Protesters heckle Hiram Montserrat after a rally in Queens. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
“When we have more resources, stop the attacks,” the group shouted as they surrounded Mr. Monserrate, who was addressing reporters about 50 feet away from the Corona Plaza location where the rally was taking place at the same time.
As the chants grew louder, Monserrate stopped speaking in hopes of calming the crowd, but Matteo Guerrero, who led the rally for a local immigrant nonprofit and later called for coexistence between sex workers and residents, It started hitting Monserrate in the face.
The former lawmaker then tried to leave, but Guerrero and other members of the group chased Monserrate and heckled him. Mr. Monserrate first walked to the front of the store, then turned and walked along the edge of the plaza.
Guerrero continued to scream as protester Vinny Garcia wore a nonprofit T-shirt with “Stay Here” on the back and held a sign that read “Don't decide on sex workers.” and entered in front of Mr. Monserrate. Garcia and Guerrero say they are members of the trans community.
“You're against me, you're against my community, and you've been doing that for years,” said Garcia, who previously worked as a sex worker on Roosevelt Avenue. Sex workers line the streets there.
Advocates for prostitution and illegal traders held a rally in Queens on Tuesday to demand an end to recent police crackdowns. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
“You'll never get our votes, you'll never…you can leave now,” Garcia said furiously, directing Monserrate away from the square. “You are not welcome here. Please leave.”
At that point, Monserrate was accompanied by local activist Ramon Ramirez and eventually fled the square.
As they crossed the road, the crowd chanted “sex work is work,” and another irate demonstrator yelled “there is no God” in Spanish and English.
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Fox News Digital then caught up with Monserrate and Ramirez, who hid in the next block out of sight of the angry crowd.
“There were actually more cameras than activists, and most of the people there weren't even from this community,” Monserrate said, downplaying the heated exchange.
Protesters heckle Hiram Montserrat after a rally in Queens. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
“The important thing here is that obviously there's a lot of energy, there's a lot of anger, but the reality is that Roosevelt Street is experiencing a crime wave, it's an urban crime zone. State troopers are desperately needed by the city and the police department to combat this unprecedented crime in our community.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams last week launched Operation Restore Roosevelt, which will deploy more than 200 police officers, including state troopers, to the region and crack down on bad behavior over the next 90 days.
Last month, FOX News Digital cameras recorded a line of at least 19 alleged sex workers wearing skimpy clothing on a one-block sidewalk along Roosevelt Avenue. There were at least seven more people around the corner, and on the next block a woman was seen offering sex for $60.
Video: New York City streets lined with prostitutes soliciting sex
Fox News Digital even filmed alleged sex workers and their customers leaving a well-known brothel that has been raided at least twice in recent weeks.
“We have more brothels than brothels. There are brothels in front of schools and next to churches, and 24-hour sex workers are free to roam the streets all day while parents take their children to school. Walking. This is unacceptable,” Monserrate said. Fox News Digital.
“So the community stepped up… We called out the government, we called out the mayor, and they responded. We came here to say we support the police. We're here on Roosevelt Street. I want to call the police.”
He called on residents to attend a rally at 3pm on Sunday in support of police, who have been busy raiding brothels since the operation was launched.
Former New York State Sen. Hiram Monserrate was kicked out of a New York City public square Tuesday for supporting a recent police crackdown on illegal sex work plaguing the region. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
NYPD state troopers rush to AOC's 'red light' district to crack down on rampant prostitution and crime
The Roosevelt Avenue district will be represented by Democratic Rep. Grace Meng, who is also a member of the Squad and Ocasio-Cortez. Ocasio-Cortez did not respond to requests for comment on the situation in her district. Monserrate said neither Meng nor Ocasio-Cortez responded to requests to participate in the Roosevelt Avenue cleanup.
The district has been the site of a long-standing conflict between sex workers, illegal sellers, and law and order supporters.
Many of the sex workers and illegal traders operating in the area are immigrants. With limited English and difficulty accessing formal jobs, they are forced to take to the streets to survive and insist that what they do does not harm anyone. They say it's gone.
Several blocks in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's neighborhood in Queens are lined with scantily clad immigrant prostitutes offering their illegal services 24 hours a day. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
They are drawn to the area because various immigrant nonprofits, including Make the Road New York, which organized the rally, offer resources, immigration advice and help with obtaining work permits. many.
Law and order advocates like Monserrate say the illegal activity has turned the Two Mile area of Roosevelt Avenue into a crime-ridden, filth-infested area.
Meanwhile, Guerrero, a Colombian native and Make the Road New York's trans justice leadership program manager, returned to the rally, saying, “The state troopers on the streets are scary,” according to the group's website. He denounced police repression.
Guerrero then called on Fox News Digital to call off the raid, showing no remorse for confronting Monserrate.
He is not listening to our community. What our communities are saying is we need housing, we need health care, we need jobs, we need education, we don't need more police. ”
Advocates for prostitution and illegal traders held a rally in Queens on Tuesday to demand an end to recent police crackdowns. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
“I've lived on Roosevelt Avenue all my life. This is the neighborhood I grew up in and it's a community space. It's a place where grandmothers and children and street vendors and sex workers come together to live together. It's a place to learn.”
“Sex workers have always been on Roosevelt Street. This community has been here since the '70s. Sex workers are part of the community,” Guerrero said.
After the rally, Garcia and other Make the Road activists were seen a few blocks away handing out fliers supporting Proposition 1. right to abortion In the state constitution. Critics say it would open the door for illegal immigrants to vote in elections.
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“No job is illegal,” Garcia told Fox News Digital, adding that transgender people have difficulty securing regular employment because they are forced into the sex industry. “If you're choosing to sell your body to do sex work, that's how you survive. No one is going to force you to do it because New York City is too expensive. not here.”
That sentiment was echoed by Kathy Lopez, a trans woman and current sex worker who has worked on the streets of Roosevelt Avenue for 10 years.
Lopez, who immigrated to New York from Colombia 25 years ago, previously worked at a hair salon, but turned to prostitution to earn more money.
“Sex work is good because no one is doing anything wrong,” Lopez said.
