Late Monday night, cops shuttered an alleged brothel located at Roosevelt Ave. The darkened windows had been slapped with a handful of vacate orders, shutting down what a local mother cited as a disturbing business to live near with her children. Photo by Dean Moses In addition to the shutdowns, a stroll down Roosevelt Avenue on Tuesday afternoon revealed heavy NYPD and state police presence throughout the neighborhood, which deterred both street walkers and vendors from setting up shop on the sidewalk.
However, while some locals are celebrating the city taking action at long last, some sex workers and advocates have decried the operation as violent, racist and harmful to immigrants.
Photo by Dean Moses Speakers also denounced the flood of cops in Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and North Corona, charging the operation is also displacing street vendors who are just trying feed their families.. Photo by Dean Moses. Speakers also denounced the flood of cops in Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and North Corona, charging the operation is also displacing street vendors who are just trying feed their families.
Fruit vendors on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens on Oct. I have been discriminated against many times on the streets. How am I supposed to provide for myself, pay my rent, and put food on my table if I am constantly highly policed? We deserve more street vendor licenses, more resources, not more police to criminalize us. NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell told amNewYork Metro that he understands the concerns of some food vendors, but notes that the department has been working with vendors to ensure they are on a path toward getting a license.
Police say they have less sympathy for what they describe as rampant prostitution that they believe traps and traffics women while also taking place near local schools.
