Community leaders in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Queens district are once again urging FBI Director Kash Patel to intervene and help dismantle what they describe as a long-running, violent network of foreign gangs responsible for trafficking women and operating open-air drug and prostitution markets in their neighborhood.

In recent weeks, frustrated residents have organized repeated demonstrations outside buildings they say function openly as brothels—some hidden behind bodegas, others disguised as massage parlors. At each rally, they’ve called on federal officials to shut down the operations they believe have flourished due to weak enforcement and unchecked gang influence.

The heart of the problem, locals say, lies near Roosevelt Avenue, a stretch of Queens long known for its crime, exploitation, and entrenched underground sex trade. Despite multiple crackdowns over the years, law enforcement still refers to the corridor as a persistent “red-light district.” According to the NYPD, officers have arrested roughly 350 individuals this year on prostitution-related offenses connected to the area.

Residents say the problem has only grown more blatant. Women allegedly approach passersby on the sidewalk, offering sex before potential customers disappear into buildings where exploitative networks are said to operate. At one recent weekend protest, demonstrators plastered “Shut it down” posters across the door of a run-down storefront they claim functions as a brothel masquerading as a massage business.

The Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition—an alliance of neighborhood advocates focused on improving safety and quality of life in the largely immigrant community—has repeatedly appealed to federal officials. In a newly issued letter addressed to Director Patel, the group called the situation an “ever-worsening crisis” and demanded federal intervention.

This is not the first time they have reached out. Earlier this year, the coalition wrote to Patel outlining similar concerns. Within weeks, the FBI, DEA, and other agencies arrested eight suspected members of the violent 18th Street gang, who authorities believe were responsible for brutal assaults and stabbings used to maintain control over the area.

While those arrests offered a brief sign of progress, residents say the criminal infrastructure quickly regenerated. In their new letter, the coalition argues that only a wide-scale federal crackdown—using trafficking, racketeering, and organized crime statutes—will be enough to truly dismantle the entrenched networks that have operated for years.

According to the group, the 18th Street gang is far from the only organization involved. They claim additional enforcers from the same gang have stepped into the void left by arrests, and that powerful foreign criminal groups—such as the Venezuelan-origin Tren de Aragua and certain Chinese organized crime networks—are deeply embedded in the area’s illicit enterprises.

These groups, residents say, control prostitution, human trafficking routes, and schemes involving fraudulent identification documents, including fake green cards.

“The rampant prostitution we see on our streets every single day is damaging the mental and spiritual well-being of our families,” said Rosa Sanchez, spokesperson for the coalition, during last week’s rally. “Our children should not be exposed to the tragedy of women being forced to sell their bodies. This is happening right outside our homes, in broad daylight. It must end.”

A spokesperson for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez noted that the congresswoman has already requested more than half a million dollars in federal funding to support nonprofits working in violence prevention and services for trafficking survivors in the district. These organizations, they said, focus on both assisting victims and reducing the cycles that fuel ongoing exploitation.

Rep. Grace Meng, whose district borders the affected area, told Fox News Digital that she maintains regular communication with the NYPD and local residents about the ongoing crime issues. She confirmed that she has forwarded the coalition’s latest letter to the FBI and is working to secure federal funding that would give the NYPD additional tools to combat the entrenched criminal activity along Roosevelt Avenue.

“I have formally requested federal resources to support specific law enforcement initiatives that the NYPD has identified as essential for addressing the crime in this corridor,” Meng said in a statement.

Community leaders insist they will continue to organize rallies and press for action until federal authorities deliver a sweeping, coordinated response. For residents living along Roosevelt Avenue, the fight is not about politics—it is about reclaiming their neighborhood from the violence, exploitation, and fear that they say have been allowed to fester for far too long.