Chaos has erupted in Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s (D-NY) “Red Light” district after sex workers rallied against police crackdown on prostitution. The district, known for its seedy conditions that can be compared to a "Third World" country, has been overrun by prostitutes who solicit sex not only at night but also in broad daylight.
Protestors in the area, which is also home to illegal immigrants, chased down former Democrat Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-NY) while he was giving media interviews and praising police officer’s attempts to clean up the Queens neighborhood. The protestors were calling for the NYPD to leave the district alone and to stop shutting down the brothels, claiming prostitution is a way of life for the neighborhood.
“Sex work is work,” a protestor yelled, while others said, "God does not exist.”
There are also concerns that the deadly Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, is occupying Roosevelt Avenue— a sketchy street represented by AOC.
In a statement, Monserrate lashed out against the problems the Queens neighborhood is facing, such as human trafficking, cartels running criminal organizations in the streets, and prostitution happening in front of churches and schools:
As someone who has lived in Queens almost my entire life and in this community for 30 years, I am concernced about the problems we are confronting in and about Roosevelt Avenue. Human trafficking is a real problem, Cartels and street gangs running criminal operations here are a real problem. Two cops shot in June by a guy on a motorbike living in a homeless shelter in East Elhurst is a real problem. Crime state through the roof are a real problem. Residents trying to get to the 7 train have to walk through a gauntlet of smoke becuase hundreds of unlicensed vendors are cooking and dumping tons of garbage on our streets is a real problem. Sex workers and brothels in front of our schools and churches is a real problem.
Last week, New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) launched "Operation Restore Roosevelt,” which aims to crack down on prostitution by deploying over 200 police officers, including state troopers, to the area— which has more brothels than bodegas.