Local leaders in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez’s New York City district have once again urged FBI Director Kash Patel to step in and dismantle what they describe as the “festering scourge” of violent foreign gangs allegedly running prostitution and drug networks in Queens.

Over recent weeks, neighborhood activists have held rallies outside several alleged brothels in Ocasio‑Cortez’s district, accusing operators of openly soliciting on sidewalks and funneling women inside. They claim that sex workers wait by the curb before clients rush into nearby buildings.

The locations are clustered around Roosevelt Avenue, an area long plagued by crime and vice — unofficially treated by some as a red‑light corridor despite repeated enforcement efforts by the NYPD. In response to complaints, police say they have arrested roughly 350 individuals this year in prostitution-related cases in and around the stretch.

One establishment is said to operate adjacent to a bodega, while another poses as a massage parlor. At a recent Sunday demonstration, protesters plastered “Shut it down” signs across the dilapidated door of the latter, calling on federal authorities to clamp down on these covert operations once and for all.

In a formal letter to Director Patel, the Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition demanded a renewed federal investigation. “We are writing to your agency again,” they wrote, “requesting an investigation and enforcement action regarding the ever‑worsening situation on the Roosevelt Avenue corridor.” The coalition focuses on improving living conditions and public safety in what is largely an immigrant neighborhood.

Earlier this year, the group sent a similar plea to Patel. Shortly afterward, in April, the FBI, DEA, and partner agencies arrested eight individuals tied to the 18th Street gang. Authorities alleged those arrested were implicated in violent control tactics — stabbings, beatings — used to maintain dominance over the area. While coalition leaders hailed those arrests as proof that federal interest exists, they insisted that deeper intervention under anti‑trafficking and racketeering laws is necessary to break the criminal networks once and for all.

The coalition argues, however, that as soon as one group is driven out, new operatives affiliated with 18th Street, Tren de Aragua, or Chinese organized crime rings simply step in — all while running human trafficking rings and distributing fraudulent immigration documents.

“The rampant prostitution we see day and night is hurting the mental and spiritual health of our children and families,” said Rosa Sanchez, a coalition spokesperson, at a rally. “Our children should never have to see women being forced to sell their bodies just feet from their homes. This is a human tragedy happening in plain view, and it must end.”

A spokesperson for Congresswoman Ocasio‑Cortez said that she has requested over half a million dollars in federal funding for nonprofit organizations engaged in violence interruption and services for victims of sex trafficking in the affected neighborhoods.

Local representative Grace Meng added that she dialogues regularly with police and residents about ongoing crime. She confirmed that she forwarded the coalition’s letter to the FBI and is pursuing federal funds to support NYPD initiatives in Roosevelt Avenue. “I have formally requested federal money to support local initiatives and projects specifically requested by the NYPD — giving them better tools to combat crime in the area,” Meng said in a statement.