Around 200 people gathered at the 90th Street Triangle on the border of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst on Sunday to rally against rising crime and prostitution along Roosevelt Avenue.
The Rescue Roosevelt Avenue rally was organized by the Let’s Improve Roosevelt Ave. coalition and took place at the intersection of Case Street and Roosevelt Avenue, which speakers described as the epicenter of crime in the area.
A number of speakers, including Ramon Ramirez, president of the Let’s Improve Roosevelt Ave. coalition, former New York City Council Member Hiram Monserrate, and Marty Dolan, who unsuccessfully challenged Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic primaries last June, addressed the crowd on Sunday, alleging that crime is out of control in the area.
They said they organized the rally at the 90th Street Triangle because the intersection of Case Street and Roosevelt Avenue is home to the largest number of brothels in the area, and street walkers operate there 24/7.
A number of speakers additionally accused elected officials and city administrations of failing the area and called for a change of local leadership.
Members of the crowd carried banners bearing slogans such as “Keep our community safe”, “Shut it down” – in reference to efforts to close alleged brothels in the area – and “Human trafficking awareness.”
A number of religious leaders, including Bishop Dr. Sheldon Ferguson of Mt. Olivet Gospel Church in Corona, also addressed Sunday’s rally, leading protesters in prayer.
Monserrate, who has held several rallies and protests against crime and prostitution on Roosevelt Avenue, said Sunday’s rally aimed to highlight the plight of Roosevelt Avenue by drawing attention to the prostitution, unlicensed street vending, and crime taking place along the avenue.
“It doesn’t appear that anyone in authority is really stepping up the way we need them to because it continues unabated,” Monserrate said. “We’re here to say that it has to change.”
“Our community is sick and tired of the level of criminal activity that’s happening right here,” he said. “Roosevelt Avenue is not a dumping ground. Roosevelt Avenue is a commercial corridor where hundreds of millions of dollars are expended yearly. This community deserves better. We should be able to walk out on the street and be safe.”
A business owner operating a store near the 90th Street Triangle, who wished to remain anonymous, said the proliferation of streetwalkers in the area is having a negative impact on her business. She stated that her customers are regularly accosted by street walkers as they attempt to enter her store.
“People come here with their families and kids, and prostitutes are stopping them,” the business owner said, adding that streetwalkers often approach people who are accompanied by minors.
Bishop Ferguson offered a prayer for women who may be victims of sex trafficking or coercion, stating that the community was coming together to offer a sign of hope.
Ramirez stated that elected officials bear responsibility for rising crime along Roosevelt Avenue by making efforts to defund the police and pass bad bail laws. He also noted that State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assembly Member Catalina Cruz have supported efforts to legalize prostitution.
“What can we expect if this is what our elected leaders do?” Ramirez said. “Now, we must endure what they created.”
Ramos and Cruz have supported a statewide bill to decriminalize and decarcerate sex workers and those who patronize sex workers. The bill argues that decriminalizing sex work would help to keep sex workers safe by maximizing their legal protections. The bill would also continue to uphold all anti-trafficking statutes of the law.
A spokesperson for Jessica Ramos stated that the State Senator has never endorsed a bill to legalize prostitution.
“Senator Ramos does not carry, nor has she ever carried a bill to legalize prostitution,” a spokesperson for Ramos said. “She does cosponsor Senator Salazar’s bill to decriminalize sex work, as it has proven to be an effective way to allow victims of trafficking to go to the police without fear of being criminalized themselves. But it is worth pointing out that the bill has never moved, and it is not a priority bill of the Senator’s.”
Dolan called on those in attendance to vote their elected officials out of office to bring about change along Roosevelt Avenue.
“How are we going to change things?” Dolan said. “It’s up to you. It’s up to you to be the leaders in your social groups, in your communities, and in your block associations. You need to take your leadership and get people registered to vote and get them educated. You need to vote out the politicians who have caused this.”
Ricardo Pacheco, who challenged Jessica González-Rojas in the Democratic primaries, told the crowd that the problems along Roosevelt Avenue are a direct result of failed policies from elected officials. He accused local elected officials of failing to provide a safe neighborhood for locals and added that they have ignored the issues on Roosevelt Avenue for too long.
He also called for strong and humane solutions to the problems in the area.
“No matter what or how we feel about what’s going on over here, we should never lose sight of our humanity. These are people too, and they’re our neighbors, whether we like it or not. So we have to come across the solutions that are good for all of us,” Pacheco told the crowd.
Monserrate, on the other hand, pledged to work with local elected officials to clean up the area, specifically calling out Council Member Francisco Moya.
“We expect all of our elected officials to work together. It doesn’t matter what party you’re in,” he said. “Today is the day we put all the politics to the side.”
“Council Member Moya I send you a message, I am not your enemy. I am your ally to clean this community.”
John Vargas, a Corona resident who plans to challenge Ramos in Senate District 13, was less cooperative and led attendees in a chant of “Jessica Ramos se tiene que ir” (Jessica Ramos has to go).
“Where is Jessica Ramos today?” Vargas asked the crowd. “Why is she not here.”
A spokesperson for Ramos said the state senator never received any invitation to attend Sunday’s rally, adding that none of the rally organizers have ever requested a meeting with Ramos.
“We have a strict open-door policy. We have tracked every call to our office related to Roosevelt Avenue since 2022, when the situation really started to escalate,” Ramos’s spokesperson said in a statement.
Ramos’s spokesperson said the state senator shares the frustrations of those who attended Sunday’s rally, stating that Ramos also lives off Roosevelt Avenue and has seen the problems first-hand.
“In order to get results, it is very helpful to understand which branch of government is responsible for what,” Ramos’s spokesperson said.
Ramos has helped improve the area through measures in the state budget, such as upgrading MTA stations and expanding access to childcare, Ramos’s spokesperson said.
“Unfortunately she (Ramos) has no jurisdiction over the NYPD, the City Department of Sanitation, nor does she have the ability to compel the federal government to issue work permits.”
