Residents in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) district are again sounding the alarm and demanding that FBI Director Kash Patel intervene to dismantle violent foreign gangs openly running brothels, drugs, and trafficking operations in Queens.
Community leaders and activists have staged multiple protests in recent weeks outside notorious brothels along Roosevelt Avenue, a two-mile strip long plagued by crime, prostitution, and gang violence.
Protesters say the problem is so entrenched that only federal authorities can root it out.
In a letter to Patel, the Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition wrote:
“We are writing to your agency again, requesting an investigation and enforcement action regarding the ever-worsening situation on the Roosevelt Avenue Corridor.”
The coalition flagged at least eight known brothels, seven of them in Ocasio-Cortez’s district.
They also identified active operations by violent groups, including the 18th Street gang, Tren de Aragua, and Chinese organized crime organizations.
The dangerous gangs are reportedly controlling the strip with an “iron fist.”
They allege the groups are not only forcing women into prostitution but also trafficking fake green cards and narcotics.
Rosa Sanchez, a spokesperson for the group, said children in the neighborhood are being forced to witness the exploitation every day.
“The rampant prostitution that we see on our streets 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is having an adverse effect on the mental and spiritual health of our children and families,” Sanchez said.
“There is no reason that our children should have to bear witness to the human tragedy of women being forced to sell their bodies for the profits of traffickers and pimps.
“It is happening in front of our homes. It must stop.”
Sanchez also blasted Democrats like New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani is a radical socialist who has pushed for decriminalizing prostitution.
“Clearly, whoever supports this type of legislation does not have a clue what that would mean for our community,” she said.
Despite mounting community pressure, AOC has limited her response to requesting $500,000 in federal funding for nonprofits focused on “violence interruption” and support services for victims.
Critics argue that such half-measures won’t dismantle the gangs who continue to terrorize the area.
In April, after repeated appeals from locals, the FBI arrested eight suspected members of the 18th Street gang for brutal stabbings and beatings tied to Roosevelt Avenue.
But residents say those arrests were only the tip of the iceberg.
Gang enforcers quickly filled the void.
The NYPD has launched multiple crackdowns, including flooding the area with more than 200 extra officers, leading to over 2,100 arrests and 20,000 summonses this year alone.
Police have also shut down several brothels using nuisance laws, but locals say the court process is slow and brothels reopen as quickly as they are closed.
Former Democrat state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, who has led rallies against the Roosevelt Avenue brothels, praised the NYPD’s efforts but said state laws tie their hands.
“State laws do not give our local law enforcement the full range of options that are available to federal law enforcement,” Monserrate said.
“Therefore, we are calling upon the FBI to again investigate our complaints of human trafficking and racketeering in our community.”
For now, the “red-light district” persists in the heart of Ocasio-Cortez’s district.
Families have now resorted to begging federal authorities to take action as Democrat leaders largely look the other way.
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