By Noah Powelson
An alleged brothel that operated across the street from a Queens city councilmember’s office was shuttered Thursday after residents called on the city to crack down on prostitution in the area.
The NYPD raided and padlocked a brothel operating at 37-45 75th St. in Jackson Heights on Oct. 28 after locals had been calling the city to take action for about a month. The brothel operated just off of Roosevelt Avenue, and its closure represents a renewed effort by the city to address prostitution and narcotics in the commercial hub, according to the NYPD.
According to a police spokesperson, the location was shut down and padlocked after the NYPD’s Vice Enforcement Division investigated prostitution in the area. After a court found the building was in violation of New York’s nuisance abatement law, a Queens Supreme Court justice issued a restraining order and ordered the building closed.
Police shuttered the building around 6:20 p.m. on Oct. 28.
The spokesperson also said that on the following day, 13 unnamed individuals were also arrested for patronizing a sex worker in the vicinity of Roosevelt Avenue and 87th Street.
The raid followed two protests held outside the storefront by The Restore Roosevelt Avenue coalition, founded by Queens district leader and former State Senator Hiram Monserrate. Monserrate told the Eagle they had been aware of the brothel operating in the area for a little over a month, and that it had been operating nearly around the clock.
“We want to thank the NYPD for acting on our complaints,” Monserrate said in a statement. “There are many more places to be shut down and many streets that need more policing. We will continue to monitor, hold rallies and call out those in authority until this community is safer for everyone.”
The brothel, which was in a building right across the street from Councilmember Shekar Krishnan’s office in Jackson Heights, had been raided once before by police in October, but the raid appeared to have done little to disrupt operations.
Krishnan told the Eagle his office was aware of concerns neighbors expressed regarding the activities around 37-45 75th St., and worked with NYPD to get the brothel shut down.
“Our office cares deeply about the safety of our neighbors,” Krishnan said in a statement. “We’ve heard concerns from many neighbors about this location, and we worked closely with law enforcement to shut it down.”
The Restore Roosevelt Avenue coalition regularly tracks and reports alleged prostitution rings operating throughout the neighborhood, but Monserrate said the 75th Street location elicited particular ire from the community for how blatantly it advertised its operations.
While he was thankful the city finally responded to their complaints, Monserrate also said the whole process “took longer than it should have.”
Monserrate and the coalition called on the city to amend the nuisance abatement law to give law enforcement the power to obtain an emergency shutdown order from a judge within five days of a prostitution or narcotics arrest being made.