Leaders in AOC's Red Light district call on Kash Patel to crush 'worsening' gang crime and prostitution
Last week, local leaders, including a former Democrat state senator, wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel urging him to unleash agents to quell the raging problem along Roosevelt Avenue – a 2-mile commercial strip which has been likened to both a Third World Country and a Red-Light district – where scantily-clad women on sidewalks soliciting sex is commonplace.
They also claim the ruthless 18th Street Gang has taken over illegal operations there, filling the void of other gangs like with Tren de Aragua after a massive police operation saw hundreds of people arrested.
That police crackdown, which started in October and was labeled "Operation Restore Roosevelt," saw hundreds of city and state troopers descend on the neighborhood. The NYPD told Fox News Digital that the clampdown has resulted in a 37% year-to-date drop in crime in our Roosevelt Avenue zone with more than 1,800 arrests and more than 15,000 summonses.
Residents and local activists heaped praise on New York City Mayor Eric Adams after he spearheaded the aggressive 90-day police blitz.
But locals say the blitz was short-lived and bars have been turned into makeshift brothels where a dance can easily be negotiated into sex in dingy rooms downstairs. Many of the sex workers are migrants, the leaders said.
"The NYPD's Operation Restore Roosevelt did lead to arrests, but our street sources say the gangs replaced their foot soldiers within days," said the advocates, who include former Democrat state Senator Hiram Monserrate.
"The money never stopped moving, the dance floors stayed open, and the prostitutes came back in full force. This isn't just a Queens problem, it's a blueprint for how gangs, cartels, and traffickers can take over a community in plain sight."
They said that the gangs have turned the two-mile seedy strip into a "well-oiled criminal machine" using Roosevelt Avenue as its marketplace. "Roosevelt Avenue doesn't just have a gang problem. It has become gangland."
The NYPD did not confirm the locals' claims about gangs operating in the area.
Monserrate and the two groups — Restore Roosevelt Ave. and Neighbors of the American Triangle — called on Patel to investigate the "ever-worsening situation" they face.
They write that the 18th Street gang have tagged their gang insignia around the area marking their territory.
Monserrate said that the gangs are involved in all sorts of serious crimes, including human and drug trafficking, illegal gun sales, identity theft and distributing fake Green Cards, as well as violent crimes. His sources have identified at least 20 brothels in the area, some of which operate near schools.
He said that crime in general is still plaguing the area. Earlier this week, a man was fatally stabbed when he tried to stop a violent thief from stealing his bike steps from a local subway station, police said.
Monserrate shared a video with Fox News Digital with what he said were 23 alleged sex workers on one block.
In September, Fox News Digital cameras recorded a line of no less than 19 alleged sex workers on one block along Roosevelt Avenue with at least seven more on the next block. One woman was witnessed soliciting sex for $60.
Cortez has yet to respond to multiple Fox News Digital requests for comment regarding the situation along Roosevelt Avenue. She is scheduled to hold a town hall in the neighborhood on Saturday.
Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., whose district also includes the neighborhood, told Fox News Digital that she is closely engaged with the NYPD's ongoing efforts to improve public safety and quality of life in the area.
"I have confidence in the NYPD's commitment and capability to address these challenges, and I commend their sustained presence and work in the community," Meng said.
"As the top Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding for law enforcement agencies such as the NYPD and FBI, I will continue to advocate for the resources they need to protect residents in Queens."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
31 minutes ago
- CNN
Cash, gloves and screenshots: Top investigators detail Bryan Kohberger's unusual behavior after Idaho student murders
In the days after murdering four University of Idaho students in an off-campus home, Bryan Kohberger's behavior shifted dramatically and investigators would later find that he had fixated on news coverage of the killings and began paying for items in cash – often wearing gloves – as he avoided the area of the murders. The details emerged Friday in CNN's wide-ranging, sit-down interview with Idaho State Police Lt. Darren Gilbertson and Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger. The key investigators shared new insight into Kohberger's unusual behavior and the violent struggles that took place inside the home in November 2022. 'Everything lined up' for investigators once they started looking into Kohberger as a suspect, Gilbertson told CNN. By the time the FBI linked Kohberger to DNA found on a knife sheath left at the scene, the investigation had dragged on for several weeks, with thousands of tips pouring in, he said. Kohberger's name seemed to click everything into place, he added. The former criminology graduate student, who was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday as part of a controversial plea deal, showed 'very strong changes in behavior' after the killings, Gilbertson said. Though Kohberger returned to the area a few hours after the murders, investigators said they believe he never set foot in Moscow again after that, he said. Here are some of the key revelations from investigators: Though it would take investigators nearly two months to identify and arrest Kohberger at his parents' Pennsylvania home, the killer had spent those weeks taking strange precautions. 'He stops using his debit card, his credit cards. He starts only using cash,' Gilbertson said. '(In) video and surveillance that we would collect and pick up after that, he's often wearing gloves.' Before law enforcement seized his electronic devices, Kohberger had been wiping data from them. Even so, he had kept several screenshots and pictures of news coverage of the killings, according to Gilbertson. However, investigators found no evidence on the devices that Kohberger had known the victims, Gilbertson said, debunking reports that the killer had photos and the social media accounts of some of the victims on his phone. 'To this date, we have never found a single connection – anything – between any of the four victims or the other two surviving roommates with him. No pictures, no texts,' Gilbertson said. Kohberger pleaded guilty earlier this month to the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen after spending years insisting he was innocent. The deal with prosecutors, which has received polarized reactions from the victims' families, allowed him to skirt a trial and took the death penalty off the table. Though the sentence has allowed police to release a trove of investigative documents that provide desperately-sought insight into the crime, Gilbertson and Dahlinger agreed there is one question that may never be answered: Why did he do it? What is clear to investigators, according to Gilbertson, is that Kohberger was 'very consumed' with criminology and the psychology around murder. Though investigators are confident a knife was used to kill all four victims, Goncalves was struck in the face by an unknown object and the extent of her struggle with Kohberger is still unknown, Gilbertson said. 'It certainly appears something else struck her to cause the marks that we saw that is not consistent with a fist,' Gilbertson said. There is also no evidence she was bound or gagged, he added. A recently released preliminary autopsy report found each of the victims had suffered 'sharp force injuries' – though Goncalves also had 'asphyxial injures' and 'blunt force injuries.' She had been stabbed more than 20 times, the document says, though her father said after the killer's sentencing Wednesday she had been stabbed more than 30 times. The knife, which investigators believe was a Ka-Bar knife, has also not been found. A tan, leather sheath for one such weapon containing Kohberger's DNA was found at the scene of the killings. Goncalves's sister addressed Kohberger during Wednesday's sentencing, telling him, 'If you hadn't attacked them in their sleep, in the middle of the night like a pedophile, Kaylee would have kicked your fucking ass.' As Kohberger was fatally stabbing Goncalves and Mogen on the third floor of the home, prosecutors have said they believe Kernodle was still awake on the floor below. Gilbertson said she was likely eating food she'd had delivered after a late night out. 'We believe that she heard something going on upstairs and at least started in that direction. But we don't know how far she got, or whether she went up the stairs or all the way up the stairs,' Gilbertson said. Kernodle was stabbed more than 50 times, and many of her wounds were defensive, the autopsy said, indicating she tried to fight off her attacker. Chapin, her boyfriend, was asleep in her bedroom and Kohberger killed him as well, prosecutors have said. 'She fought. She fought back and she fought hard,' Dahlinger said. As she resisted Kohberger, 'The fight just continued,' Gilbertson added. Jeff Kernodle, Xana's father, said on Wednesday that he almost went to his daughter's home on the night she was killed. But he had been drinking, and she told him not to drink and drive. Now, he said on Wednesday, he wishes that he had. 'You would have had to deal with me,' he told Kohberger in court. Before her death, Goncalves had expressed fears that she was being followed, and investigators have said her death elicited hundreds of tips and pieces of information about her having a stalker. Gilbertson confirmed her fears were correct. 'Somebody had followed her, and I know Kaylee absolutely felt that it was real. We investigated that heavily, we tracked down every bit of it,' Gilberson said. 'Fortunately, it was not what we would term or think of as stalking.' Someone had followed Goncalves but never contacted her, he said. 'It ended up being an instance where somebody saw a very pretty girl and was hoping to maybe be able to talk to her, or maybe be able to get a date or something,' Gilbertson said. In December 2022, police said investigators had identified an incident in October in which two men were seen at a business and one man appeared to follow Goncalves inside and as she exited to her car. The man did not make contact with her. Investigators contacted both men and learned they were trying to meet women at the business. Detectives said they believe this was an isolated incident and not a pattern of stalking. There was no evidence to suggest the men were involved in the killings, they said. CNN's Eric Levenson, Dakin Andone, Maureen Chowdhury and Antoinette Radford contributed to this report.
The Hill
35 minutes ago
- The Hill
Andrew Schulz slams Trump over Obama allegations amid Epstein controversy
Podcaster Andrew Schulz slammed President Trump during a Thursday episode of the Flagrant podcast, criticizing Trump for his handling of multiple controversies. Earlier this week, the president accused former President Obama of influencing the findings in Russiagate while distancing himself from the public's push for more information on Jeffrey Epstein's criminal dealings. 'He is rebuking the base, like almost like spitting in their face,' Schulz said. FBI Director Kash Patel and deputy director Dan Bongino have defended Trump amid the ongoing Epstein saga. In July, the two supported the release of the agency's findings that concluded the deceased financier kept no 'client list' and announced the Trump administration would not unveil additional files tied to convicted sex offender's dealings. 'He campaigned on it. He put Bongino and Kash in there, which might be the stupidest thing in the history of the world. Why would you put the two guys that have nonstop pounded the pavement talking about how we're going to expose this Epstein thing, and the second they get in there like, 'You better shut the f*** up,'' Schulz said. The comedian said this week's release of files related to Martin Luther King Jr. was another attempt at 's— distractions' to throw people off the hunt for more information on Epstein. His co-host Akaash Singh agreed, adding that the administration was 'hiding something crazy.' Storylines have swirled regarding Epstein's ties to Trump as the Wall Street Journal published an article outlining a 2003 birthday letter sent to the businessman in 2003. It allegedly bears Trump's signature and is typed in the font of a naked woman, according to the outlet. Trump denied ever writing the correspondence and sued the outlet over the report.
Politico
36 minutes ago
- Politico
Why is DOJ speaking with Ghislaine Maxwell?
DAY TWO — As part of the Trump administration's effort to contain the backlash from their handling of the so-called Epstein files, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche spent a second day in Tallahassee today interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell. As a diversionary tactic, it's understandable. But as a strictly prosecutorial matter, the effort makes almost no sense. Maxwell, Epstein's longtime partner, raises multiple red flags that would ordinarily make her a very poor candidate to serve as a cooperating witness for the government. Among them: Maxwell's crimes with Jeffrey Epstein were heinous, and she went to trial instead of admitting her guilt and pleading out. She's serving a 20-year prison sentence for child sex trafficking and other crimes. On top of that, the Justice Department has already discredited her. They charged her with two perjury counts (which were later dropped after the sex trafficking conviction) and told the judge during her 2021 trial that she had been willing to 'brazenly lie under oath about her conduct.' Any credible DOJ cooperation deal at this point would require her to plead to those perjury counts, but it is far from clear whether she is willing to do that. The conduct at issue is also very old. Epstein and Maxwell's relationship dates back to the 1990s, and as a result, it will be much harder for the government to corroborate her testimony with other evidence or generate credible information that the government can act upon to charge others at this late date. Adding to the DOJ's problems is the fact that Maxwell has an obvious incentive to lie or otherwise shade her testimony to curry favor with the government. She would presumably want a pardon or commutation of her sentence at the end of the process, and the Trump administration appears particularly interested in information or testimony that would reflect well on Trump amid the growing body of information and reporting concerning his relationship with Epstein. (Trump has repeatedly and vehemently denied any involvement in or awareness of criminal misconduct on the part of Epstein or Maxwell.) Then there's the fact that Blanche himself is doing the interviews with Maxwell. The deputy AG is the DOJ's second-in-command. He presumably has more pressing and consequential matters to attend to than trying to execute a Hail-Mary cooperation deal with a child sex trafficker who is already in prison and who is unlikely to ever emerge as a credible witness in the eyes of the American public. So what gives? Trump and the DOJ are clearly feeling public and political pressure following their effort to quickly move past the Epstein saga and related conspiracy theories — theories that were advanced and indulged in recent years by Trump himself, along with Vice President JD Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, among many other Trump allies. They are also clearly reluctant to release the information that those closely following the Epstein saga actually want — witness interviews, financial records, correspondence and flight logs, among other things. Maxwell aside, it is also unlikely that the grand jury testimony that the DOJ is separately seeking to unseal in New York will satisfy those tracking the Epstein saga even if the government is successful. That is true for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that the testimony at issue likely represents only a sliver of information in the government's possession and may not have ranged widely beyond the specific charges that were brought in court against Epstein and Maxwell. As a result, onlookers should view any information that emerges through these avenues skeptically. One thing, however, is clear: The Trump administration and the DOJ are extending a saga that deeply traumatized Epstein's many victims. Under ordinary circumstances, the interests of victims in a situation like this would supersede the political interests of the White House, but they appear to have made a very different calculation. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@ Or contact tonight's author at akhardori@ MORNING MONEY: CAPITAL RISK — POLITICO's flagship financial newsletter has a new Friday edition built for the economic era we're living in: one shaped by political volatility, disruption and a wave of policy decisions with sector-wide consequences. Each week, Morning Money: Capital Risk brings sharp reporting and analysis on how political risk is moving markets and how investors are adapting. Want to know how health care regulation, tariffs, or court rulings could ripple through the economy? Start here. What'd I Miss? — Trump on Hamas: 'They want to die': President Donald Trump said today Hamas 'didn't want to make a deal' and 'they want to die,' claiming the group wants to retain the hostages to keep its negotiating leverage .The comments came one day after the United States pulled out of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas and as American allies put increasing pressure on Israel to let up on a campaign in Gaza that is causing widespread starvation. He added: 'It got to a point where you're going to have to finish the job,' an apparent reference to Israel continuing its military offensive against the group. — Trump administration moves to release billions in federal education cash: The Trump administration said today it will release billions of dollars in education funding that have been on hold for review for weeks, according to a senior administration official. Approximately $1.3 billion in money for after-school programs was released by the administration last week, with Friday's move marking the release of the remaining portion of the nearly $7 billion in funding that the administration withheld. The remaining dollars include money to support teacher preparation and students learning English, among other initiatives. — 14 Republican senators urge White House to release delayed NIH funds: Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama is sounding the alarm about 'the slow disbursement rate' of National Institutes of Health funding included in the March spending bill signed by President Donald Trump. Britt, who serves as chair of the Senate Appropriations homeland subcommittee, led a letter today with thirteen of her GOP colleagues to White House Budget Chief Russ Vought, urging the Office of Management and Budget to 'fully implement' the stopgap government funding package enacted earlier this year. 'Suspension of these appropriated funds — whether formally withheld or functionally delayed — could threaten Americans' ability to access better treatments and limit our nation's leadership in biomedical science,' Britt and her colleagues warned. — Maxwell's lawyer says she's undecided on appearing for congressional testimony: A lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell said his client is still deciding whether she will honor a congressional subpoena demanding her testimony next month before House lawmakers. 'We have to make a decision about whether she will do that or not,' said David Oscar Markus, an attorney for Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and co-conspirator of the deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein. 'That's been scheduled for the week of August 11th and we haven't gotten back to them on whether we'll do that.' Markus delivered these remarks after Maxwell completed a two-day interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the Trump administration's continued inquiry into the charges against Epstein's circle. — Pennsylvania Republican called out by Ethics panel for stock investments: A House panel tasked with investigating potential corruption charges against fellow members of Congress called on a Pennsylvania Republican to divest his family's holdings from a steel manufacturer today, citing concerns around the appearance of wrongdoing. The bipartisan Ethics Committee had been investigating a complaint that Rep. Mike Kelly's wife bought stock in Cleveland-Cliffs, an Ohio-based company, based on non-public information gleaned from Kelly's position as an elected official. Although Kelly's wife was not fully cooperative with the probe, the panel 'did not find evidence that [the lawmaker] knowingly or intentionally caused his spouse to trade based on insider information.' The panel urged Kelly and his wife to divest their holdings before he takes any more official actions related to Cleveland-Cliffs. — Venezuelan Little League team denied entry into US amid Trump travel ban: A Venezuelan Little League baseball team will not be allowed to participate in a championship tournament because the team was denied travel visas to the U.S. Little League International said on Friday the Cacique Mara Little League team from Maracaibo, Venezuela will not participate in the Senior League Baseball World Series in South Carolina this year, despite qualifying for the tournament, after being unable to obtain visas. Venezuela is among the countries the Trump administration has placed restrictions on travel to the U.S. CARNEY URGES ISRAEL — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Israel late Thursday night of obstructing humanitarian aid to Gaza and called for international agencies to take over all distribution. 'Canada condemns the Israeli government's failure to prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza,' Carney said. 'Israel's control of aid distribution must be replaced by comprehensive provision of humanitarian assistance led by international organizations. Many of these are holding significant Canadian-funded aid which has been blocked from delivery to starving civilians. This denial of humanitarian aid is a violation of international law,' he added. '50-50' CHANCE — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet Donald Trump on Sunday to discuss trade, as the U.S. president described the prospect of a deal with the EU as '50-50.' 'Following a good call' with Trump, 'we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong,' she said in a post on X on Friday. Three weeks ago, the EU and U.S. almost agreed on a deal for a 10 percent baseline tariff, but Trump pulled the rug out from under it by threatening 30 percent tariffs instead. A deadline of July 9 for Trump's tariffs to kick in was moved to Aug. 1. 'I would say that we have a 50-50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50-50 chance of making a deal with the EU,' Trump told reporters at the White House before heading to the U.K. on a private visit and to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Nightly Number RADAR SWEEP READING THE STARS — Astrology, a longstanding part of Indian culture, is expanding its reach into the stock market. India's $7 billion astrology market is experiencing a boom as more people, especially younger generations, rely on planetary alignments to decide how to invest. Astrologers are offering their services to financial news shows and consultations through apps with tens of millions of users. The industry's growth has started to attract venture capitalists who see an opportunity to integrate AI into the age-old practice. Preeti Soni and Akriti Sharma report for Bloomberg. Parting Image Jacqueline Munis contributed to this newsletter. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
