Illegal immigrants recently took over a block of New York City and turned it into an open-air market selling stolen goods at steep discounts. new york post report.
Roosevelt Avenue near 91st Street in Jackson Heights has become an illegal market where immigrants sell everything from mouthwash to power tools stolen from local merchants.
Migrants arrive every morning with suitcases filled with ill-gotten goods plundered from local establishments. Many sellers display their merchandise on sidewalk blankets and offer discounts of 20% to 30%.
Francisco Oporta, a security guard at a local department store, told the press that migrants were stealing from his employers.
“They took it out of the box and it’s ours. As you can see, it’s new but we’re listing it as used. It’s ours,” Oporta said.
“They have been training people,” he continued. “They have lookouts and people who yell so that when the police come they can pick them up and leave. They’re catching a lot, they’re stealing a lot. Last week they caught 20. 20 in a week. They’re hurting business.”
Milton Reyes, who owns a pharmacy on Roosevelt Street, told the Post that the problems in the area are “unrelenting.”
“Look at it on Saturday. It’s too heavy to even get on the sidewalk. There are a lot of clinics around here, so my customers don’t even want to be taken off,” Reyes said.
He said he does not blame local law enforcement for the issue.
“They would come and pick up some. But as soon as the police cars left, they would start backing up. Twenty minutes later, they were set up again as if nothing had happened,” Reyes explained.
for several months, Residents have complained of sex workers standing along the street making propositions to passersby. The newspaper reported that several buildings in the area functioned as brothels.
Earlier this year, police closed down more than a dozen establishments used for prostitution. However, illegal activities continued.
One source told the Post, “Roosevelt Street is a microcosm, a perfect storm of crazy laws that impede enforcement and subsequent punitive consequences.”
“Add to this a wave of people with nothing to lose, and you end up with crime and a decline in the quality of life for the community, and the city as a whole,” the source added.
Local resident Zhou H told the media that the outdoor market has expanded over the past year.
“I don’t know what will make this situation go away,” Zhou said. “It’s like a sub-economy. Everyone buys from people like this. There were some, but mostly at night. Like a bazaar. About a year ago, it accumulated.
“But I thought, these people aren’t given that opportunity. They have to feed themselves and, you know, they’re trying to survive, so whatever. I thought so,” he said. “About a year ago, we started at 10 in the morning with five of us. Then he gets 10, then he gets 20 all day. At night? Never mind!
Zhou said illegal activities in the area are “normalized.”
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