Bad Girls 2023

New Bad Girls

 

 NY Post

A street in Corona, Queens has turned into the city’s boldest open-air market for sex — one so popular with pervs that it’s advertised on YouTube.

As police enforcement wanes and immigration surges, nearly a dozen brothels have set up shop along Roosevelt Avenue near Junction Boulevard.

On a recent weekday in broad daylight, scores of scantily-clad streetwalkers brazenly solicited passersby — including a Post reporter — as sidewalks teemed with kids and legitimate shoppers and merchants.

One sex worker offered a “happy ending” massage for $40 and another offered “full-body massages” for $80.

The women loiter in front of pool halls, dentist shops and massage parlors day and night, and even recruit neighborhood children to hand out their X-rated business cards, concerned moms told The Post.

“How do they have this f–king going on in broad daylight?” one police source asked after seeing photos of the women in the street. “They’re not allowed to arrest prostitutes anymore, supposedly. But they gotta figure something out.”

It’s a perfect storm for prostitution in Corona and other NYC immigrant enclaves, experts say. Vulnerable migrant women unable to legally work are flooding the city, while local district attorneys have chosen to stop prosecuting sex workers.

The Post found the oldest profession has some new tricks:

• The Roosevelt Avenue red-light district is blatantly advertised on a YouTube channel for Spanish speakers, with 10 minutes of footage showing the women working what they call the “Market of Sweethearts,” and two men guiding viewers on how to negotiate with them.

• The brothels appear to be cooperating, rather than competing. As The Post spoke with one sex worker, others nearby filmed and photographed, appearing to warn each other of the journalists’ presence.

• It’s not just happening in the dark of night or inside massage parlors. Women were found plying their trade in the middle of the afternoon, in front of a dental clinic, a pool hall and a barber shop.

• Cops no longer arrest hookers. The NYPD started focusing on johns a few years ago after a prostitute tragically jumped to her death during a police pursuit. In April 2021, then-Manhattan DA Cy Vance announced his office would stop prosecuting sex workers, and other borough prosecutors soon followed suit.

• Brothels and sex workers are actively recruiting kids. Some have them hand out cards with a photo of a sex worker offering “delivery service,” according to terrified moms, about 20 of whom have banded together to form the Community of Young Values and Principles in Corona.

“I’ve lived here my entire life and I’ve never seen it get to this point,” said City Councilman Francisco Moya (D-Corona), who is sounding the alarm about the issue and says he’s asked Mayor Adams to help.

Moya was especially incensed by the “Market of Sweethearts” video by the group Comunidad Latina En Usa, which has more than 19,000 YouTube subscribers.

 

Blazing restaurant shanty delays transit service on the 7 line

Outside Dining Structure Engulfed in Flames @CitizenApp

84-19 Roosevelt Ave 2:20:01 AM EDT

Walk on the wild side in the world's borough

Community board approves luxury public housing building on Roosevelt Ave.

  

Queens Post

A developer’s application to rezone a large piece of property in Woodside was approved by Community Board 2 last night.

The application calls for the development of a 13 story, 213 unit complex on Roosevelt Avenue­—between 62nd and 63rd Streets. About 10 stores along the strip will have to bulldozed to make way for the project.

There was little discussion by the board about the size of the proposed project, despite it being significantly larger than what is permitted in accordance with current zoning code.

“This is a huge development,” said Christine Hunter, co-chair of the board’s Land Use Committee. “I really regret that we did not have more conversation or push them harder on some of the physical aspects of the bulk increase and height increase. This is not a modest increase.”

The application calls for a building that would be 211,500 square feet and consist of 213 units—154 market rate apartments and 54 affordable units.

The project would also come with 7,500 square feet of space dedicated to the arts, of which 2,000 square feet would be set aside for the Woodside arts group Mare Nostrum Elements. There would also be local retail space on the ground floor and cellar, as well as office space on the second floor.

Without a rezoning, the building would be limited in size to 119,500 square feet—and only 123 units could be built. There would also be no performance space required. The building, however, could be up to 9 stories and include commercial space.

Rezoning for luxury public housing building will displace small businesses

 

LIC Post

About 10 stores on Roosevelt Avenue are in jeopardy of being bulldozed to make way for a 13-story, 213-unit complex.

A developer has filed an application with the Department of City Planning to rezone a series of parcels on Roosevelt Avenue–between 62nd and 63rd Streets–to put up a large mixed-use building. The plans were certified Monday and the public review process has begun.

The plans involve rezoning a series of lots—62-02 through 62-26 Roosevelt Avenue– from a R6 and R6/C1-4 district– to a C4-4 district.Depar

Woodside 63 Management LLC., which is led by the Astoria-based real estate firm EJ Stevens Group, is behind the application.

The development would require the demolition of approximately 10 storefronts, occupied by an eclectic array of businesses– including a carpet store, laundromat, furniture store, restaurant, barber shop and 99-cent store.

The 13-story building would consist of apartment units on floors three through 13. The ground floor would be dedicated to retail, with office space on the second floor.

A community facility would be located on the cellar level. The developer is working with Mare Nostrom Elements on an arts/dance facility in that space.

More heavy metal thunder raining from the Roosevelt Ave. elevated tracks

NY Daily News



It’s raining rusty metal in Queens.

A woman walking beneath the No. 7 subway tracks Monday was nearly struck by a falling hunk of rusty metal, the fifth reported incident of flying debris along the 104-year-old elevated structure this year.

Erin Koster, 37, was crossing Roosevelt Ave. at 53rd St. at around 4:30 p.m. when she said the piece of metal fell in front of her. Kostner said the debris weighed about a pound, enough to cause serious injury.

The Woodside resident said she’s been aware of the ongoing issue on the line.

“We don’t drive under the train anymore at all in the car, because why would you,” said Koster. “But if you live in this neighborhood, you have to walk under the train tracks.”

The issues along the No. 7 line became well known in February when a falling beam nearly impaled an Uber driver on Roosevelt Ave. near 65th St. Two weeks later, a hunk of rusty metal cracked the windshield of a car parked beneath the tracks near 62nd St.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials have repeatedly assured residents that it’s perfectly safe beneath the tracks, and on Tuesday said they were looking into putting up netting to catch any falling debris.

Agency spokesman Shams Tarek said Tuesday’s falling debris appears to have “broken clean” without any sign of slow deterioration or stress to the structure.

 Broken clean. Looks like the MTA is becoming more adept at propaganda than at maintenance.

Lookie here, an update from THE CITY:

 The MTA said Tuesday it will install protective netting beneath “limited” sections of elevated train tracks throughout the city — including along the No. 7 line, where debris has repeatedly plunged onto Queens’ Roosevelt Avenue.

The agency’s move follows the latest spills — both near the 52nd Street stop in Woodside on Monday and Tuesday.

“It’s otherworldly that we have so many people in Woodside, Queens, when they walk along Roosevelt Avenue are looking up and saying, ‘Am I next? Is something going to happen to me here?’” said Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer. “They’ve got to fix this.”

Van Bramer has been pressing the MTA to install netting beneath the 7 tracks in the wake of several heavy items plummeting from the elevated structures.

 The problems underneath the line started in February, when a piece of wood spiked the windshield of a passing for-hire vehicle. That scare prompted the MTA to pledge an inspection of “every inch of elevated tracks in the city.”

 But until this week, the MTA had been noncommittal about installing netting.

THE CITY last month reported that New York City Transit President Andy Byford objected to  Van Bramer’s proposal, warning in a letter to the Council member that netting would “impede access, close-up inspection and assessment of corrosion or defects on the structure and cause extensive street-level traffic disruption to install and secure.”

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Byford said the No. 7’s elevated structure “has the attention of the highest levels of MTA leadership,” and that the authority is taking the netting on a test run.

 
 

Sunnyside's Roosevelt Avenue is going to get mighty crowded

Sunnyside Post


A small area around the 52nd Street train station has become a hot bed for development—and it is about to get a whole lot hotter.

Plans were filed last week for a 17-story, 90-unit complex at the corner of 51st Street and Roosevelt Ave., where the blue-colored J & Sons Supply building once stood.

The building would include six apartments per floor from floors three to 17. There would be ground floor commercial space, with the second floor used for mechanical and electrical purposes. The cellar would include parking and recreation space.

The plans include a stand-alone school, which would be four-stories tall, on the same site. The school is likely to be a private school, since the School Construction Authority said it is not working on bringing a public school to the site.

The plans are currently being reviewed by the Department of Buildings, including whether they meet existing zoning requirements.


Plans were filed in March for a six-story, 10-unit building at 52-16 Roosevelt Ave., a site mid-block between 52nd and 53rd Streets that once housed former Council Member Eric Gioia’s offices and a small shed next door. On the adjacent site, at the corner of 53rd and Roosevelt Avenue, a six-story building is being developed.

In addition, plans were filed in January for a seven-story, 40-unit complex at 51-24 Roosevelt Ave., where Nunziato Florists and Payag Restaurant were located.

Meanwhile, plans for a 5 story, 10-unit building at 52-22 Roosevelt Ave., where Adelita restaurant was formerly located, were filed in 2017.

Additionally, plans were filed last year for a six-story, 14-unit complex at 43-20 52nd St.
On Queens Boulevard, at 50-17 Queens Blvd (43-44 51st Street), plans have been filed for a nine-story, 75-unit building.

DOT admits they made a mistake with Clear Curbs

From the NY Post:

The de Blasio administration is putting the brakes on a controversial pilot program aimed at limiting deliveries along some of the Big Apple’s busiest commercial corridors following complaints it was killing local businesses.

City officials confirmed Monday they are halting the “Clear Curbs” program along affected zones in Queens and are working with community stakeholders to “adjust” the program along parts of Flatbush Avenue and other bustling sections of Brooklyn.

The six-month program, which began in March, won’t be altered in any way along its remaining, most traffic-heavy zones in Midtown.

Dopey DOT program is hurting small businesses

From the Times Ledger:

A city pilot program to ban curbside deliveries in Queens has small business owners warning that they may have to close their doors because customers unable to find parking have fled.

City Councilmen Francisco Moya (D-Corona) and Mark Gjonaj (D-Pelham Bay) along with the DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and the NYPD toured the bustling thoroughfare of Roosevelt Avenue last Friday to speak with residents and small business owners affected by the mayor’s Clear Curbs Initiative.

Under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Congestion Action Plan -- a series of steps designed to ease congestion in busy thoroughfares across the five boroughs -- the Clear Curbs Initiative six-month pilot program was implemented in March banning curbside loading along the Roosevelt Avenue corridor in Jackson Heights from Broadway to 180th Street in Corona during peak hours from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The rules allow for expeditious pick-up and drop-off of passengers and delivery trucks to off-street loading docks. NYPD staff were assigned to pilot locations to enforce the new restrictions of keeping curbs clear.

The tour was at the halfway mark of the six-month pilot program, which has crippled businesses, created perilous traffic conditions, and led to steeper ticketing for residents and delivery drivers along Roosevelt Avenue, according to Moya.

Riveting story from Jackson Heights

From CBS 2:

Across from his window that morning, and for days leading up to this, workers were making repairs to the transit infrastructure, Carlin reported. The first few workers he questioned denied the projectile came from their site. Then, he said another worker confessed to the accident and gave him an explanation.

“They use a high-powered device to shoot the rivets out. Now, there’s supposed to be another worker on the other end of the rivet to catch the rivet. He said they’re called a muffler. I guess like a baseball catcher would catch a fastball. Except in this case, there was no catcher at the other side,” said Siegel.

CBS2 asked the MTA about safety protocols and why, in this case, they apparently failed. The agency said it’s looking into it.

Is the Clear Curbs initiative helping or hurting?

From NBC:

A program designed to curb congestion by banning delivery trucks and cars from parking on certain streets during rush hour is making the problem worse, some say. Lori Bordonaro reports.

The night belongs to lovers but the day belongs to these people

"I've been living in Woodside since 1978 and this is the first street singer I've seen. And he is pretty darn good!" - SirBill55

How charming!

Watch behind the singer and you'll notice some not-so-kosher things going on. Cabs shouldn't be making U-turns in the middle of Roosevelt Ave and commercial establishment shouldn't be dumping their garbage next to public trash bins. It's funny to see the video end with the busker staring at a Hefty bag.

Thanks, Kent, for passing this along.

City hoping to curb congestion by banning rush hour deliveries

From PIX11:

A ban on commercial curbside deliveries during rush hour went into effect Monday.

The ban is part of a congestion reduction pilot program by the city that will regulate when and where commercial trucks can stop and unload goods on some of the busiest streets in NYC. The ban will not effect personal deliveries.

Starting Monday, there will be no curbside deliveries along Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

In April, the truck ban will expand to 11 cross streets in Midtown, Manhattan, including 54th Street between Eighth and Third avenues and 47th Street between Ninth and Third avenues.

While it will ease traffic on some of the busiest streets in NYC, business owners say bringing in goods later in the day will hurt them. They say the ban will force employees to stay at work later and residents will have to hear trucks being unloaded late at night.

Church tries to win over community with a gazebo

From DNA Info:

A church looking to build a bigger house of worship on Roosevelt Avenue is hoping to win over opponents of its expansion project by developing a public plaza with lights and a gazebo near 69th Street.

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God's plan to demolish its building at 68-03 Roosevelt Ave. to build a bigger church on top of an adjacent parking lot facing 69th Street had some neighbors worried that the plan would mean increased traffic and less parking in the area.

Church officials told Community Board 2 members in September that they would be building a new 150-space parking garage next to the 7 train tracks on the same lot as the new building.

The garage would mostly be used by parishioners, but would open to the public on Saturdays, they said — but that wasn't enough to appease neighbors at the time.

The church returned to the board on Dec. 1, this time promising to build a plaza on top of the underground garage, with landscaping, lights and a gazebo.

Fighting crime on Roosevelt Avenue is a long, hard slog

From DNA Info:

An ongoing effort to tackle crime and quality-of-life issues along Roosevelt Avenue in Corona and Jackson Heights should expand west to target problem bars and clubs in Woodside, lawmakers said Monday — likening the street at night to "old Times Square."

Elected officials called on city and state agencies to pour more resources into monitoring "bad actor" businesses along the corridor: bars that operate without proper licenses and attract drug use, prostitution and other problems, they said.

"Roosevelt Avenue is a vibrant avenue during the day," said state Sen. Jose Peralta, who's been pushing for several years to clean up the street, including a request to have NYPD lines redrawn so the avenue was united under one precinct.

"What happens at night is that it turns into something completely different," he said. "It's turned into the old Times Square, where you have prostitution, where you have $2 dance bars, where you have drugs, where you have fake IDs, and that needs to end."

While the stretch of Roosevelt Avenue located within Peralta's district has garnered much of the negative attention in recent years — including in Jackson Heights, identified as a problem spot for sex trafficking — its issues extend into Woodside too, officials said.

"Unfortunately, it's no different on this part of Roosevelt Avenue, a little bit further west," state Sen. Michael Gianaris said at a press conference on 65th Street Tuesday.

The NYPD did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The lawmakers say their focus is on getting the State Liquor Authority and the city's Department of Consumer Affairs to better enforce licensing rules, saying many bars on the avenue operate as dance clubs without the cabaret license that allows them to do so.

Peralta introduced legislation this summer that would increase fines for clubs that violate cabaret rules, and would temporarily suspend the licenses of bars found to be operating illegally.

Peralta wants Roosevelt Ave cleaned up

From the Daily News:

Sen. Jose Peralta (D-Queens) wants to clean up a stretch of 20 blocks along Roosevelt Ave. that bring in a “bad element” at night.

“It’s a vibrant place in the day ... but at night all kinds of illegal activity occurs, prostitution, human trafficking and more,” he said.

Peralta, who represents the area, wants the city to increase its enforcement of existing quality of life laws and up the fines for certain violations from $1,000 to $10,000.

Interesting old Woodside house to make way for crap

Sunnyside Post

From Sunnyside Post:

Plans were filed with the Dept. of Buildings Tuesday for a six-story mixed use building at 54-21 Roosevelt Avenue. The structure will consist of ground floor retail, second floor health care facilities and four stories of apartments. The development would include seven dwelling units.

Demolition permits were filed in March.

The owner of the building, Al Zhu Lu, did not want to comment for this story.

Interesting house to meet the wrecking ball

From Sunnyside Post:

A two-story house sandwiched between the 7 train tracks and Woodside Library has a date with the wrecking ball.

Demolition plans were filed with the Department of Buildings at 54-21 Roosevelt Ave. earlier this month.

A small home characterized by jutting features and a mix of windows currently occupies the property.

First subway shit stink of the new year

"It is just a few days into 2016 and yesterday, Jan., 11th. marks the first shit case. Passengers were standing on a packed platform; while others occupied two nearby benches, at Roosevelt Avenue station in Queens.

Suddenly, a shitty scent filled the atmosphere. A man full of shit was approaching. Passengers had to move away as fast as possible; in search of clean air. The shitty individual calmly walked and made a brief stop at the garbage bin in search of food. Passengers made a quick get-away as the E train pulled into the station.

This is happening in Queens; the world's borough according to Katz, the borough president. This is what passengers have to endure; time and time again.

Madam Katz, can you please send a letter to MTA boss, Tom Prendergast on this filthy matter. This condition is a health hazard and it is depressing.

In addition madam Katz, can you contact Mayor de Blasio. The homeless man needs to be taken to one of De Blasio's "drop in center." He is in dire need of a bath, food etc.

Velazquez, you are the counsel for Katz, Boranian, you are the liaison. Please make certain that your boss gets this message. Councilman Miller you are equally responsible for assisting in a resolution."

P. Hazel: Social Media Journalist for Justice.