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Bruce Blakeman vowed Wednesday to clean up the drug and sex infested “Market of Sweethearts” in Queens, blaming Gov. Kathy Hochul and lefty pols for the soft-on-crime laws that let it happen.
Blakeman, the GOP gubernatorial candidate, said cashless bail and “Raise the Age” statutes have allowed immigrant gangs to thrive along Roosevelt Avenue for years, forcing neighborhood residents to live in fear while Albany does nothing.
“There was a time in this community where you didn’t have to worry about walking around at 10 or 11 o’clock at night,” Blakeman said at a press conference on the seedy stretch. “This was a fun, vibrant, energetic community and it still is, but it’s being destroyed by politicians who have ignored the people.
“They come here for elections and after the elections you never see them,” said Blakeman, the Nassau County executive. “We have seen the growth of gangs like Tren de Aragua, MS13 and Triads. These people are preying on our communities, and Kathy Hochul is responsible.”
Roosevelt Avenue has been plagued by open air prostitution, drug peddling and rampant shoplifting for years, particularly after an influx of illegal immigrants were allowed to flood the Big Apple.
Despite a series of raids, calls from elected officials and constant complaints from the neighborhood, gangs continue to thrive along the busy strip.
Meanwhile, the state’s bail reform statute, which bars judges from setting bail on most crimes, means criminals continually get cut loose and return to the streets to strike again. The “Raise the Age” statute means defendants as old as 19 get treated with kid gloves as juvenile offenders.
Blakeman — who’ll face Democratic incumbent Hochul on the November 3 ballot as she seeks a second, four-year term — claimed socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made it harder to clean up Roosevelt Avenue by holding cops back and not filling vital posts that could take a bite out of crime.
“Governor Hochul and Zohran Mamdani will not protect you,” he said. “As governor, I will.”
Joining him at Wednesday’s press conference were frustrated local residents.
“I am afraid to walk by myself,” said 65-year-old retired teacher Toni Diaz, a neighborhood activist who has lived in the area for over 50 years. “So many people in our communities feel like prisoners in our own neighborhood. There are not enough police.”
Another longtime local, Charles Castro, said he’s never seen the area in such dire condition.
“I’ve never seen anything so bad,” he said. “You can get whatever documents you want here. You can get a passport, you can get green cards. Women get trafficked here.
“We have people walking around like zombies — they’re all drugged up,” he added. “The governor sent the state troopers here for 90 days and it got better, and then took them out. That’s insane.”
