Civic leaders are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to deploy 100 state troopers to help clean up the “urban crime zone” of Roosevelt Avenue — the squalid stretch in Queens that’s been overrun with brothels, illegal vendors and crime.
“It’s an urban crime zone and as a result we have more brothels than bodegas,” the leaders of the group Let’s Improve Roosevelt Avenue said in a letter to Hochul Tuesday.
Group leaders said the NYPD’s 100th and 115th precincts are “overwhelmed and understaffed” and the area has been taken over by organized crime — drug rings, human trafficking, pimps, prostitutes and shoplifting rings.
The letter was signed by group president Ramon Ramirez Baez and Hiram Monserrate, a Democratic district leader and former state senator and councilman.
The Post has run a series of stories exposing the explosion of brothels and shoplifting along the Roosevelt Avenue — a main thoroughfare that runs through Jackson Heights, Corona, Elmhurst and Woodside. Brothels were even spotted across the street from two public schools.
The local leaders also complained about the proliferation of unlicensed food vendors.
“Our streets are filthy. Our community can’t wait any longer,” they wrote. “Our quality of life has been eviscerated. We need New York State to intervene.”
Hochul’s office said the state police works closely with the NYPD and provides help when asked.
“As the Governor often notes, the New York State Police is in constant contact with the NYPD and the Governor has made coordination between local, state, and federal law enforcement central to all of her public safety efforts — from gun violence prevention to retail theft to subway safety,” said Hochul spokeswoman Maggie Halley.
“The Governor’s team has been in touch with the NYPD and offered them any assistance they need.”
.
