ELMHURST — Despite an afternoon downpour drenching the 90th Street Triangle on Sunday, Sept. 29, people showed up to a protest against sex trafficking along a three-mile stretch of Roosevelt Avenue. 

Organizers would soon announce that the “Roosevelt Avenue in Crisis: Demand Change Now!” rally would be rescheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6 — again at the 90th Street Triangle. 

However, several people took the opportunity to assail the lawlessness that has proliferated beneath the MTA’s elevated 7 Line in Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and Corona for the past two years. Those who came for the rally noted that more brothels have also popped up in the neighborhoods over that same span. 

Rosa Sanchez, a lifelong resident of Elmhurst who supports the movement, said that over the past two years, Roosevelt Avenue has become a conduit for prostitution via foot traffic. 

“We have seen, with our own eyes, young women ages 14 and up, believe it or not,” Sanchez said. 

The prostitutes are hard to miss from the afternoon to sunup: young women or teens stroll the sidewalk in provocative outfits. All of them are clutching phones. 

Sanchez said the problem extends along Roosevelt Avenue near the intersection with the Brooklyn and Queens Expressway east to 114th Street near Citi Field. 

“We’re talking about over 200 prostitution locations,” she said of the brothels. 

Sanchez motioned to a business on Case Street, two doors down from the triangle, that operated covertly as a brothel. 

“It got closed, but they’re open again,” she said. “And when you have prostitution, there’s drugs, and there’s a lot of money involved, so there are gangs. … It’s worse than ever.” 

Without an accurate survey, it is hard to say whether these women are being sex-trafficked or if they willingly turn to prostitution to make money. Likewise, it is hard to find clear data confirming that many of the prostitutes are believed to be recent immigrants to the U.S. who are forced into “survival sex work” to pay off exorbitant travel costs charged by human trafficking rings. 

But, according to Mayor Eric Adams at an Oct. 31, 2023, press briefing, “Our intel is telling us there’s a level of accuracy to that.” 

The mayor made similar statements in the succeeding month, blaming “the failure of our national government.” 

“This is what happens when you create an atmosphere that people can’t provide for themselves,” he told reporters. 

Sanchez agreed the problem accelerated during the border crisis. She also said she understood the plight of genuine asylum seekers. “People come into this country for a better life, not to come here and sell their bodies,” she said. 

Protestors accused the city government, especially Mayor Adams, of mishandling the immigrant crisis that began two years ago when busloads of asylum seekers began flowing into the city from the border with Mexico. 

Construction worker Edward Luyo, who came to Elmhurst from Peru 20 years ago, said the local sex trade has proliferated openly since 2022. 

“It changed everything,” Luyo said during the downpour at the tip of the triangle. “It’s crazy. You could walk over there to buy a coffee, but now you see all these girls, and they harass you. ” 

Protestors want the New York Police Department to crack down on lawlessness. Mayor Adams and NYPD officials say they’re attacking the problem. In mid-January, the NYPD conducted an undercover sweep on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights that shuttered a dozen illegal massage parlors. 

Two days before the rain-soaked rally, Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry and Chief of Patrol John Chell took to social media to herald a major bust. 

“Last night, your VICE detectives carried out a major operation, rescuing victims of human trafficking on Roosevelt Avenue,” the officials said. “These brothels, operating near schools and families, posed a grave threat to our community. This ends NOW. We will not tolerate such heinous crimes and will SHUT these operations DOWN!” 

They closed with the hashtags #EndHumanTrafficking and #WeOutside2.” 

John Vargas, a lifelong resident of the neighborhood and parishioner of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Corona, said children walking to school with their parents frequently pass by brothels or prostitutes. 

“It’s so shameful because these were beautiful streets,” he said. “But I think that human dignity is the most important aspect of it.”