Local leaders in New York City Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district have again called on FBI Director Kash Patel to finally crush what they call the festering scourge of ruthless foreign gangs pimping women in brothels and pumping drugs into the Queens neighborhood.
The tight-knit group has held several separate protests in recent weeks outside what they said are well-known brothels in the progressive champion’s district, where women allegedly solicit sex on the sidewalk outside before Johns scurry inside.
The brothels are located near the troubled Roosevelt Avenue corridor in Queens, a two-mile commercial strip which has been plagued with crime, prostitution and violence for years, so much so that it’s often referred to as a red-light district despite repeated crackdowns by the NYPD. Police told Fox News Digital they’ve arrested 350 people so far this year for prostitution-related offenses in and around the beleaguered strip.
One brothel hides beside a bodega, while another masquerades as a massage parlor — its run-down doorway was plastered with “Shut it down” signs at a recent Sunday protest as demonstrators urged the feds to wipe out the seedy cathouses once and for all.
“We are writing to your agency again, requesting an investigation and enforcement action regarding the ever-worsening situation on the Roosevelt Avenue Corridor,” the Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition wrote in a recent letter to Patel. The group advocates for improving the quality of life and ensuring safer streets in the predominantly immigrant neighborhood.
The group identified eight locations they said are known brothels, seven of which are in Ocasio-Cortez’s district, while the other is in fellow progressive Rep. Grace Meng’s district. The group flagged at least five street corners where they said sex workers operate.
The activists praised police efforts but insist the problem is so entrenched that only federal intervention can knock out the gangs and allow families to live without fear.
