Around a dozen community members and local activists gathered in Corona Friday afternoon to demand the closure of an alleged brothel operating in the area.
Protesters, led by the President of Let’s Improve Roosevelt Ave. Coalition, Ramon Ramirez and former New York City Council Member Hiram Monserrate held a press conference on Oct. 4, at the alleged brothel at 98-17 Roosevelt Ave. after a local activist captured footage of alleged illegal solicitation inside the building.
The group led chants of “shut it down” outside the building and plastered a banner bearing the same slogan to the entrance of the alleged brothel.
Residents said the alleged brothel has been operating with impunity for many years, alleging that sex workers regularly approach people walking in the street to offer massages.
Protesters also raised concerns about the alleged brothel operating in the vicinity of two elementary schools – P.S. 19 and P.S. 307. They additionally raised concerns that many of the sex workers were victims of alleged human trafficking.
A local resident named Mike, who declined to give his last name, said fathers are often approached in the presence of their children as they walk their kids to and from school.
“People are taking their children to school at six, seven in the morning and they’re out here offering their dads massages,” Mike said. “You’re taking the innocence from these children away because everybody knows what they mean, so kids will never get that [innocence] back.”
Mike said he moved back to the area around three and a half years ago and said the issue has been prevalent ever since. He said he has regularly raised the issue with city officials and the NYPD but added that his complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
He also said Johns have regularly gotten into fights outside the alleged brothel as well as urinating on cars parked in the area.
Monserrate said the prevalence of the alleged brothel is shameful, stating that the local community is tired and frustrated about the issue.
“We want immediate action,” Monserrate said. There’s no way that this brothel should be operating here across the street from two elementary schools. That’s a total failure that everyone should be ashamed of.”
Monserrate said the alleged brothel has been operating for at least nine months, adding that he has been making efforts to close it down for roughly two months.
He added that the presence of two elementary schools make the issue the “worst of the worst.”
“This is a residential block. This is not some back road in some industrial zone that’s away from everyone. This is our main street.”
Ramirez, meanwhile, called on Assembly Member Catalina Cruz and State Sen. Jessica Ramos to take action.
“This is unacceptable,” Ramirez said. “We feel like we have lost the community.”
Protesters stated that the alleged brothel temporarily closed when police raided another nearby brothel at 98-07 Roosevelt Ave. on Friday, Sept. 27, allegedly catching a sex worker and a John in the act. However, they said both alleged brothels were back up and running within two days and said police and city officials are not doing enough to crack down on the issue.
An NYPD spokesperson said in response that the police remain committed to tackling prostitution along Roosevelt Avenue.
“The NYPD continues to focus efforts on addressing the prostitution condition along Roosevelt Avenue,” the NYPD spokesperson said.
Ramos applauded the raid of the nearby brothel but said more needs to be done to address prostitution and trafficking in the neighborhood.
“My neighbors and I were happy to finally see City Hall dispatch police officers to arrest human traffickers last week (at the alleged brothel at 98-07 Roosevelt Ave.), but the problem persists,” Ramos said. “No one wants to see people selling sex, especially when they’re being coerced by traffickers. It’s unclear what took so long.”
Ramos said the underground economy along Roosevelt Avenue is out of control and added that allowing migrants to work legally would help to ease the problem.
“The underground economy has spiraled out of control. Without work permits from the Feds, migrants need honest work to provide for themselves. The fact is the migrants are here, and they want to work.”
