New York Post reporting shows prostitution-related arrests along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens fell sharply this year while street-level sex solicitation and indoor brothels remain visible. The drop in arrests follows changes in enforcement priorities and legal shifts dating to 2021.
Street solicitation continues openly on the two-mile corridor through Jackson Heights and Corona, with sex workers reportedly leading customers into small upstairs rooms and buildings.
The repeal of New York’s loitering-for-prostitution statute in Feb. 2021 and changes in local enforcement priorities are cited as drivers of reduced arrests.
# Overview
Reporting focused on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens — a corridor nicknamed the "Market of Sweethearts" that runs roughly two miles through Jackson Heights and Corona — finds a sharp decline in prostitution-related arrests this year alongside continuing visible street solicitation and indoor sex-for-pay operations.
# What the data show
Major crimes such as murders and shootings along the corridor are reported to be down about 3% in the same comparison.
# How the market operates on the street
Street-level sex workers openly solicit on Roosevelt Avenue near storefronts and two-story commercial buildings. According to on-the-record sourcing in the article, streetwalkers approach customers, then guide them upstairs into small rooms inside nearby buildings where sexual services take place. The reporting includes described price ranges and practices offered by some workers and customers encountered by the reporter.
# Legal and enforcement context
A state law change in February 2021 repealed the statute against loitering for the purpose of prostitution. That repeal has been cited in coverage as creating more latitude for street solicitation and shifting enforcement emphasis toward trafficking, pimps, and johns.
Under the prior mayoral administration and an enforcement campaign called "Operation Restore Roosevelt," authorities had carried out aggressive raids. The newer reporting links the arrest decline to current local enforcement priorities and to Mayor Zohran Mamdani's prior public support for decriminalizing prostitution.
Customers and sex workers quoted in the reporting gave specific price examples and described the logistics of transactions. Community leaders and a former state senator say the situation has worsened since shifts in enforcement and that the current formula is not keeping the community safe.
A named local Democratic district leader characterized the condition as a failure of enforcement. Another anonymous city official described a cycle of short-term arrests followed by reappearance of activity.
# City response
A spokesperson for Mayor Mamdani said he is committed to partnering with local organizations and neighborhood residents to address conditions on Roosevelt Avenue and will use every tool available while treating victims and survivors with care and dignity.
# Bottom line
The reporting documents a large decline in prostitution-related arrests on Roosevelt Avenue this year alongside continued visible street solicitation and indoor operations. The decline intersects with broader legal and policy changes since 2021 and differing local views about the best approach: some community voices call for stronger enforcement, while city officials emphasize partnership and survivor-centered responses.
Over the past few years The Post has exposed the seediness, crime, drug-peddling and illegal vending along the Roosevelt Avenue corridor.
Scoring illegal sex along New York’s Roosevelt Avenue in Queens has never been easier than under Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), according to a front-page report Sunday by the New York Post. The post Report: Johns and Street Hookers Doing Robust Business in Mamdani’s New York appeared first on Breitbart .
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