{"id":8797,"date":"2025-10-19T22:39:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T22:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/8797\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T22:39:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T22:39:06","slug":"queens-leaders-fight-to-make-roosevelt-avenue-safe-for-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/8797\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens leaders fight to make Roosevelt Avenue safe for families"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSON HEIGHTS, Queens (PIX11) \u2014 Residents and community leaders in Queens are continuing their efforts to make Roosevelt Avenue safer<\/a> and better for families, facing ongoing challenges from crime and illegal activity.<\/p>\n

Residents say that crime and prostitution<\/a> have been persistent problems, but their fight is far from over. They hope their ongoing efforts inspire real change and result in increased safety.<\/p>\n

More Local News <\/a><\/p>\n

A community group in Jackson Heights is stepping up again to tackle crime and improve life along Roosevelt Avenue. On Sunday, dozens gathered at 90th Street and Roosevelt Avenue for a public safety rally organized by the Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition.<\/p>\n

It has been one year since major efforts began to combat crime and sex trafficking in the area, but serious problems still remain.<\/p>\n

Hiram Monserrate, the district leader, spoke at the rally just steps from an illegal brothel. \u201cWe are on 90th and Roosevelt, which is basically the Walmart of illegal sex trade,\u201d he said. \u201cAt night, the prostitutes line up here about 50 to 60 deep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monserrate emphasized the coalition\u2019s new campaign against attempts to legalize prostitution in the state. \u201cIf there is any attempt that\u2019s effective in legalizing or decriminalizing, as they say, it\u2019s basically the same thing. This community will be overwhelmed by more gangs and cartels,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State <\/a><\/p>\n

The coalition\u2019s goal is clear: protect neighborhoods, keep families safe, and make sure children don\u2019t have to walk past brothels or illegal businesses on their way to school.<\/p>\n

Resident Toni Diaz said, \u201cWe don\u2019t want our children to grow up and say I want to be a prostitute. That\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The movement to legalize prostitution seeks to allow adults to buy or sell sex without fear of arrest. However, it remains illegal, and the police continue to crack down on illegal activity.<\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez, president of Restore Roosevelt Avenue, shared her concerns, \u201cWe\u2019re here to make sure that our women are not trafficked and also what we\u2019re noticing is that our youth are following the wrong steps. We are here to lend a helping hand because we know what it is to be in a place where you don\u2019t want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

These efforts follow New York City\u2019s \u201cOperation Restore Roosevelt\u201d launched last year\u2014a 90-day multi-agency crackdown led by the NYPD, sanitation, homeless services, and the Queens District Attorney\u2019s office to clean up the streets, fight crime, and support trafficking victims.<\/p>\n

Despite a citywide drop in crime this year, many say the fight on Roosevelt Avenue is ongoing. Monserrate said, \u201cThe job is still not done\u2026 We\u2019re not asking for ICE, we\u2019re not asking for cooperation, we\u2019re asking for law enforcement to do their job and keep us safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

NYPD crime statistics confirm a significant decrease in crime along Roosevelt Avenue since the operation began.<\/p>\n

Monserrate and the coalition vow to continue protests at brothels and illegal businesses until the community feels safe again and Roosevelt Avenue truly feels like home.<\/p>\n

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSON HEIGHTS, Queens (PIX11) \u2014 Residents and community leaders in Queens are continuing their efforts to make Roosevelt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8798,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[7591,7592,7594,9,24,63,7593,122,124,123,7590,7485],"class_list":["post-8797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-hiram-monserrate","tag-illegal-activity","tag-illegal-sex","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-operation-restore-roosevelt","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-roosevelt-avenue","tag-sex-trafficking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}