Frustration is boiling over in Queens, the place residents, enterprise house owners, and civic leaders are accusing consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of ignoring worsening circumstances alongside Roosevelt Avenue, a stretch now notorious for rampant prostitution, unlawful merchandising, and rising gang exercise.“I’ve not personally seen Ocasio-Cortez since she’s been elected. I’ve not seen her in the neighborhood,” these had been the phrases of Rosa Sanchez, president of the Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition. “I’ve seen her in a parade — that’s it.”Locals say they have been pleading for assist as their neighborhood, the notorious “Market of Sweethearts,” spirals into dysfunction. They declare the congresswoman, who represents a portion of the troubled hall, has been lacking in motion.Sanchez stated the rise in unlicensed road distributors, some allegedly peddling stolen items, has put law-abiding shopkeepers on the brink, whereas victims of intercourse trafficking are left to undergo with out political assist. “You will have younger ladies held in opposition to their will. They’re being intercourse trafficked. This isn’t regular,” she stated. “Our neighborhood is struggling,” she additional informed the New York Publish.Regardless of a latest NYPD operation, referred to as “Operation Restore Roosevelt,” many imagine the efforts had been solely non permanent. Although crime dipped 28% in the course of the 90-day crackdown, residents say the aid didn’t final. Inside weeks of police scaling again, unlawful distributors returned, and the acquainted indicators of lawlessness reappeared.Mauricio Zamora, chief of the Neighbors of the American Triangle, informed the New York Publish that the AOC has “by no means” taken significant motion on the realm’s core points. After assembly with Ocasio-Cortez final Friday to debate the disaster at Corona Plaza, Zamora claimed the congresswoman shifted the blame, saying that broader crime enforcement was the accountability of the mayor, NYPD, and metropolis officers.That response has not glad many in the neighborhood, particularly when different lawmakers are seen taking extra proactive stances. Bronx consultant Ritchie Torres, as an example, has brazenly referred to as on Mayor Eric Adams to wash up The Hub, one other hotspot affected by open-air drug use and prostitution.Many Queens residents say that they’ve merely by no means seen their consultant. “No, I’ve by no means seen AOC right here. I’ve seen the native metropolis councilman [Francisco Moya]. I’ve seen the police. I’ve by no means seen AOC,” stated Jenny Leo, 54, a pharmacist on Roosevelt Avenue.Leo stated the scenario isn’t worsening, however neither is it bettering. David Ortega, supervisor at Bravo Grocery store, stated, “Individuals are stealing meat and beer and laundry detergent. The police come they usually take them outdoors,” he stated. “Two occasions lately the thieves inform me that they’re going to attend for me once I go away. They’re not afraid. It isn’t altering. It’s the identical.” He added, the AOC “doesn’t come right here.”Considerations over gang exercise are additionally escalating. Residents say migrant gangs have exploited the realm, emboldened by a strained metropolis infrastructure. In response, native leaders beforehand appealed to federal authorities, urging the FBI and Homeland Safety to step in.Final month, federal officers introduced expenses in opposition to a migrant gang accused of working brothels, promoting faux IDs and medicines, and assaulting rivals, all from a base of operations alongside Roosevelt Avenue. Prosecutors say the gang funnelled cash to a bootleg community in El Salvador.Former metropolis councilman Hiram Monserrate, now an activist in East Elmhurst, believes extra must be completed, and rapidly. “We wish our Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to make use of her platform to herald extra law enforcement officials to stabilize the realm. We wish our neighborhood again,” he stated.Monserrate credited the NYPD for the non permanent drop in crime however warned that lowered enforcement has left the hall uncovered once more. He additionally referred to as for the return of the 100 state troopers that Governor Kathy Hochul deployed final autumn to assist the NYPD.“We want them again,” he urged.Ocasio-Cortez’s group defended her report, saying the congresswoman is “targeted on options not credit score.” In a put up on social media platform X, Ocasio-Cortez stated, “Joyful to be again in Corona Plaza to proceed our group’s conversations with distributors and native enterprise house owners about our coordinated efforts to make Roosevelt Avenue a safer and cleaner place.”Spokeswoman Karla Santillan cited Ocasio-Cortez’s efforts to repair streetlights, clear up Corona Plaza, and enhance sanitation, noting her participation in a neighborhood assembly final week.“The congresswoman is targeted on options not credit score. She has completed a number of cleanups of the plaza on the opposite aspect, and on the official aspect has labored with DOT to repair road lights and enhance sanitation,” stated Santillan.
