New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) is beefing up police presence in the prostitute-ridden borough of Queens to combat the sex trafficking crisis, leading to raids on alleged brothels in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (AOC) (D) “red light” district.
At least 19 alleged prostitutes were spotted on just one block of Roosevelt Avenue in September, Fox News reported. There were no fewer than seven more around the corner, with the outlet’s camera crew witnessing a woman offer sex for $60.
Around 200 people turned up to the Rescue Roosevelt Avenue rally on the border of the Jackson Heights and Elmhurst neighborhoods on October 6 to demonstrate against the rampant prostitution and other crime that takes place in the migrant-populated area, QNS reported.
The event was organized by the advocacy group Let’s Improve Roosevelt Ave, and included remarks about the rising crime from former NYC Council Member Hiram Monserrate (D) and former AOC primary challenger Marty Dolan.
“Our community is sick and tired of the level of criminal activity that’s happening right here,” Monserrate said. “Roosevelt Avenue is not a dumping ground. Roosevelt Avenue is a commercial corridor where hundreds of millions of dollars are expended yearly. This community deserves better. We should be able to walk out on the street and be safe.”
The street, located in the state’s Fourteenth Congressional District, represented by Ocasio-Cortez, has received no help on these unsettling issues from the congresswoman.
Adams began speaking out against the brazen prostitution problem in 2023 after illegal migrant sex workers — many from Venezuela — were seen even attempting to solicit minors as they walked home from school, Breitbart News reported.
The mayor confirmed that the “illegal” activities are, in fact, taking place on the two-mile stretch of road — and that the majority of streetwalkers and brothel ladies were female Venezuelan migrants.
“This is where idealism collides with realism… I’ve had elected officials tell me that the women are just trying [sic] work – ‘why are you trying to harm them?’ – [but] there are real issues around illegal sex work, from STDs to sex trafficking girls to violence,” Adams said, according to the Daily Mail.
Let’s Improve Roosevelt Avenue, led by its president Ramon Ramirez, wrote in a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) that the street now has “more brothels than bodegas,” the New York Post reported.
Not only are illegal pay-for-play brothels sprouting up all around the area, but migrants have also been selling fake green cards, Social Security cards, IDs, and stolen goods on the avenue, Breitbart News covered.
While police have been raiding some of the brothels, local residents told Fox News that some of them simply reopen after the cops leave, and concerned parents said that they are operating near schools.
Adams announced the launch of “Operation Restore Roosevelt” on Tuesday in response to the dire situation, aiming to crack down on the street hustlers over the next 90 days:
“We will end sex trafficking in this area. We are not here for one day and go away. We’re here for the problem to go away,” he said during a press conference.
“To tackle these issues, we are launching a multi-agency operation that brings together more than a dozen city agencies with state partners to make sure crime and quality-of-life issues are addressed,” Adams explained. “Our administration has a clear mission: to make New York a safer, more affordable city, and we will not rest until we have accomplished that mission.”
He was backed by NYPD Interim Commissioner Tom Donlon, New York City Councilmember Francisco Moya (D), and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
“We are listening to the concerns of this community and finding permanent solutions to longstanding public safety and quality-of-life issues,” the police commissioner said, stressing the need for a “collaborative approach.”
While Ocasio-Cortez did not respond to Fox News’s request for comment on the complaints from residents or the repeated brothel raids, Rep. Grace Meng (D) of the neighboring district told the outlet that she has concerns about the disturbing ordeal and thanked law enforcement for their “ongoing work to curb illegal operations throughout the neighborhood.”
