New York State Police have been called in to help clean up a seedy, crime-ridden neighborhood in Queens. That includes the district of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who advocates for “defunding the police,” and where prostitution, illegal sex trafficking and robbery are rampant.
Some residents liken the country to a third world country.
The officers arrived as part of a multi-agency crackdown called “Operation Restore Roosevelt,” led by embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The operation aims to crack down on fraud and restore law and order to the commercial district over the next 90 days. As one Democratic politician put it, “There are more brothels than bodegas.”
The operation covered an approximately two-mile stretch along Roosevelt Avenue in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods such as Elmhurst, North Corona, and Jackson Heights, where scantily clad immigrant prostitutes were identified. It has become known as a red-light district where people seek sex 24/7. About day and night.
Prostitutes rampant in AOC's 'red light' district, locals blame MIA 'squad' members
Illegal street vendors block sidewalks and cook hot food in the open while other street vendors push out everything from used clothes to pots and pans and utensils.
The streets of Queens are lined with alleged prostitutes. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
Last month, Fox News digital cameras recorded a line of more than 19 alleged sex workers 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. Fox News Digital also recorded alleged sex workers and their customers leaving a well-known brothel that was raided the night before and again last week.
The area, known to locals as “Lover's Boulevard”, has become a hub of vice, with parents alarmed by sex workers operating out in the open near schools and a local taekwondo centre. It's ringing.
“We will end sex trafficking in this region. We are not here for just one day. We are here to solve the problem,” Adams said late Tuesday. He announced the strategy at a press conference surrounded by senior New York City police officers and said the following: , including Kaz Daughtry, New York City Deputy Chief of Police Operations. Democratic City Councilman Francisco Moya also attended.
Adams said the reinforced garrison will consist of nine lieutenants, 42 sergeants and 176 police officers, bringing together more than a dozen city agencies and state troopers.
Residents have been calling for the area to be cleaned up for years. A January raid on a brothel that Adams also participated in appears to have had little effect on the dire situation, with residents telling Fox News Digital that conditions this summer have been worse than ever. .
New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke on Roosevelt Street Tuesday to announce a new strategy to combat crime on Roosevelt Street. (Mayor Michael Appleton Photo Office)
Early Tuesday morning, about 200 NYPD police officers and state troopers attacked the area, according to Democratic politician Hiram Monserrate, who described the area as an “urban crime zone.” A large gathering gathered on Roosevelt Avenue near 83rd and 84th Streets. He said about 50 state troopers participated. A New York State Police spokesperson declined to say how many officers were on the scene Tuesday, but told Fox News Digital that the number of officers will vary daily during the operation.
Monserrate told Fox News Digital last week that he urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to intervene. He said the deployment of the military was a victory for grassroots citizen groups who have held countless rallies calling for change.
“Today, real leaders stood up and began the process of reclaiming Roosevelt Street from street gangs, cartels, human traffickers, streetwalkers, and other criminal activity,” Monserrate said in a statement. “We support our police and our community looks forward to a positive outcome. We need to restore public safety and quality of life, and we will remain vigilant. .”
On Tuesday, police were deployed to troubled areas of New York City. (Hiram Monserrate)
Monserrate, a former New York state senator and City Council member, said police patrols in the area have been cut by about a third in recent years, which is part of the reason the area has become a haven for crime. Ta.
“There are cartels, good street gangs, drug organizations, human trafficking organizations. And they're running the entire operation,” Monserrate told FOX News Digital. “We don't have enough police force.”
Monserrate, who is running for state House next year, said a lack of police enforcement is partly to blame for the dire conditions along the district.
”This isn't just chain snatchers. These are organized operations. That's what we're facing, and they've all come down to the Roosevelt Street corridor. But the fact remains, there are too many criminal elements there, so we need more police officers and we can't carry out the case without them. ”
Hiram Monserrate speaks at a recent gathering. (Hiram Monserrate)
Monserrate and the Coalition to Improve Roosevelt Street, a local advocacy group he co-founded, sent a letter to Hochul earlier this month calling for more police and advocating for legalized prostitution and defunding the police. He accused other elected officials representing the region of allegedly doing so.
Monserrate also wants to see New York state's controversial bail law, backed by Democrats in Albany, the state capital, completely repealed. The law abolished cash bail and the use of jail for most cases involving misdemeanors and low-level felonies.
Video: Curtis Sliwa, local activist blasts rampant prostitution on New York streets, AOC District:
Immigrants flooded the streets of the AOC area, and prostitutes infested every block, giving it the nickname “Third World.”
”That's why police don't arrest shoplifters,” Monserrate said. And they soon return to Roosevelt Street to sell their stolen goods. [So]we are seeing our stores and pharmacies close. … [I]It's truly a vicious cycle of crime. It has become a crime zone in the city. ”
Police have been raiding brothels in the area, but residents say few people have been prosecuted and some reopen within hours.
The district of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is plagued by illegal prostitutes who line the streets day and night, soliciting sex from passersby. (Left to right: Ramses Frias, Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, Sarah Stier/Getty Images provided by QBFC)
Police announced on October 9 that they raided what they believed to be a well-known brothel on Case Street near Roosevelt Avenue and arrested three women. However, the same brothel was raided on September 18 and three people were arrested. When Fox News Digital arrived the next day, the sex workers and their clients appeared to have left the premises. A 21-year-old woman was arrested in both incidents.
Several blocks in Queens “Squad” member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's neighborhood are lined with scantily clad immigrant prostitutes offering illegal services 24 hours a day. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
Early Tuesday, police said they raided what appeared to be a brothel on the third floor of a building at 95th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in the Cortez neighborhood.
This month, a suspected member of the notorious MS-13 street gang who lived in a neighborhood of “Squad” members pleaded guilty to sex trafficking a 17-year-old immigrant girl recruited from a Queens shelter.
WATCH: Suspected sex workers and customers leave New York brothel 24 hours after police raid:
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Cortez has not yet responded to several requests for comment from Fox News Digital about the situation along Roosevelt Boulevard. U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, whose district also includes the district, told Fox News Digital she shared the community's concerns and said city officials and local police “continue to work to curb illegal fishing operations throughout the district.” He said he is grateful to the
Hochul's office did not respond to a request for comment.
