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NEW YORK – 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.
Former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, center in suit, stands with residents during an Aug. 24, 2025, protest outside an alleged brothel on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, N.Y. Demonstrators held signs calling on federal authorities to crack down on prostitution and trafficking in the neighborhood. (Courtesy of Hiram Monserrate)
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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.
Two women stand and sit outside a suspected brothel on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, N.Y., on Aug. 24, 2025. Residents say women are often seen soliciting sex on the sidewalk in the neighborhood despite increased police enforcement. (Provided)
They wrote to Patel in April and weeks later the FBI — working with the DEA and other agencies — arrested eight suspected members of the violent 18th Street gang for allegedly carrying out brutal beatings and stabbings to maintain control of the strip.
The coalition said the arrests showed federal authorities had listened to their past appeals, but insisted only a broader crackdown under federal racketeering and trafficking laws can dismantle the entrenched networks.
They said that other 18th Street gang enforcers have simply filled the void and that the gang, along with Tren de Aragua and Chinese organized crime groups, control the strip with an iron fist. They also accuse the gangs of engaging in human trafficking and distributing fake green cards.
New York Reps. Grace Meng and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been called on to do more to stop prostitution in their districts. ( Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, left, David Dee Delgado/Getty Images, right.)
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“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,” Rosa Sanchez, the group’s spokesperson, said at last week’s rally. “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 took aim at Democratic officials like New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, who supports decriminalizing sex work.
“And we say no to legalizing prostitution! Clearly, whoever supports this type of legislation does not have a clue what that would mean for our community,” Sanchez added.
Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request to clarify his position.
18th Street gang tags along Roosevelt Avenue. (Restore Roosevelt Avenue)
A gun and a fake U.S. passport were retrieved by authorities after eight alleged gang members were arrested and accused of carrying out several brutal beatings and stabbings. (United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York)
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A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez said that the congresswoman has requested more than half a million dollars in federal funding for “nonprofits focused on violence interruption programs and support for victims of sex trafficking” in the area.
Meng told Fox News Digital that she is in regular contact with police and residents about the crime situation and said she was flagging the group’s letter to the FBI, adding that she too is seeking federal funds to help the NYPD combat crime along Roosevelt Avenue.
“I have formally requested federal money to support local initiatives and projects specifically requested by the NYPD that would provide them with more tools to combat crime in the area,” Meng said in a statement.
The FBI did not specifically address the letter when contacted by Fox News Digital and instead pointed to comments made by FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia following the 18th Street gang arrests, where Raia said the agency would continue to dedicate resources to crushing violent crime and transnational gangs in communities.
1PHOTOS: Swipe to see images of NYC ‘red light’ district
Fox News Digital witnessed at least 30 women appearing to solicit sex on one block on the strip earlier this year following Ocasio-Cortez’s town hall.
The NYPD launched a 90-day crackdown in October, flooding the neighborhood with more than 200 extra officers. That effort continued this year with more than 2,100 arrests and 20,560 summonses issued, police said, noting that major crime citywide is down 4.7% this year.
Police said they’ve used nuisance abatement law to shutter several brothels along Roosevelt Avenue, but they said the process is drawn out and cases are slow to proceed through the courts.
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Former Democrat state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, who has long organized rallies against Roosevelt Avenue brothels and joined the call for expanded federal action, praised the NYPD and recent federal arrests but said those efforts still fall short of dismantling entrenched brothel and trafficking networks.
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“The department has made great headway in combating the surge of crime that swept our community, but the mission is still incomplete,” Monserrate said.
“State laws do not give our local law enforcement the full range of options that are available to federal law enforcement. Therefore, we are calling upon the FBI to again investigate our complaints of human trafficking and racketeering in our community.”