A socialist group in the AOC district criticizes police actions in their crime-ridden area

More police in a crime-ridden neighborhood in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's district actually makes the area “less safe,” according to a prominent socialist group in Queens.

The Queens chapter of the New York Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) made the claims while criticizing a sweeping police crackdown on crime in the borough that was launched to combat out-of-control prostitution and illegal street vending.

The socialist group released a scathing statement Wednesday criticizing what it called “militarized violence” against migrant workers on Roosevelt Avenue, a two-mile shopping district that has become a hotbed for open-air prostitution and illegal vendors lining the streets with food clog other goods without permission.

The statement was issued 24 hours after a Democratic politician in the area was attacked by protesters after he publicly supported the police operation that saw more than 200 police officers – including state troopers – descend on Roosevelt Avenue.

Democrat Pol was evicted from Aoc's “red light district” after supporting the police crackdown on open-air prostitution

“Queens DSA condemns Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams’ violent tactics to monitor, destroy and steal immigrant livelihoods along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens,” the statement said. “As the City of New York’s right to housing is rolled back and immigrants continue to be scapegoated to justify Mayor Adams’ austerity policies, this escalation of militarized violence against immigrants must end.”

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The group claims that more police boots on the ground are making the community “less safe” and claims the NYPD has “stolen from street vendors, harassed community members” and “destroyed their livelihoods” by shutting them down.

The chapter did not specifically say it opposed the police crackdown on prostitution in the area, which is so widespread that it is widely known as the “red light district” and nicknamed “Avenue of the Sweethearts.” Over the last week, the NYPD has raided several brothels in the area.

Fox News Digital reached out to the DSA for comment on its position on prostitution in the region but did not immediately receive a response for publication.

The Roosevelt Avenue strip is represented by “Squad” member Ocasio-Cortez, whom the DSA’s New York chapter endorsed for re-election over the summer, and fellow Democratic Rep. Grace Meng. Ocasio-Cortez and the DSA have called several times to defund the police following the death of George Floyd in 2020.

Aoc District neighborhood is dubbed “Third World” as migrants clog the streets and prostitutes flood every block

On Roosevelt Street, illegal vendors often swarm the sidewalks offering hot food outdoors without any health certificates or inspections. The vendors, almost all of whom are migrants, say they have no choice but to sell their goods on the streets to survive because they lack work permits or English skills to find legal work.

The Queens DSA department believes it should be left there.

“Queens workers deserve investment, not policing. We need fully-equipped schools, affordable housing, libraries open seven days a week, resources for low-speaking English speakers, and reliable mass transit,” the statement continued. “Increased police operations are making our streets and communities less safe. We stand in solidarity with the workers and demand the return and reimbursement of their livelihoods.”

“Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul must withdraw New York State Troopers and NYPD officers along Roosevelt Avenue, end militarized violence and invest in our communities.”

Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams launched “Operation Restore Roosevelt,” which aims to crack down on bad behavior over the next 90 days by deploying more than 200 additional police officers, including state troopers, to the area .

The statement came the day after Hiram Monserrate, a former New York state senator running for state Assembly, was chased from a public square in the neighborhood while speaking to the press praising the operation. Monserrate was attacked by demonstrators who were holding a rally against the police crackdown.

“Roosevelt Avenue has been experiencing a crime wave, it is an urban crime area. And these police officers that we've got from the city and state troopers are incredibly necessary to get a handle on crime in this community, which is unprecedented,” Monserrate told Fox News Digital after the fire

“We have more brothels than bodegas. We have brothels in front of schools, next to churches, 24 hour sex workers walking the streets freely at all hours of the day while parents drop their children off at school. This is unacceptable,” Monserrate told Fox News Digital.

Original source of the article: A socialist group in the AOC district criticizes police actions in their crime-ridden area