New York City has a huge new red light district thanks to the arrival of hordes of female Venezuelan migrants who are working as prostitutes, Mayor Eric Adams said.
Roosevelt Avenue in the Corona neighborhood of Queens is filled with Venezuelan migrants offering sex services in the open-air, so-called ‘Market of Sweethearts.’
In recent weeks sex workers have been seen walking the streets during the day, with many aggressively soliciting even as children get out of school or during their lunch hour, as reported by Pix 11.
Previously, the Bronx was home to the Big Apple’s highest concentration of sex workers for hire.
Mayor Adams said on Tuesday the situation is just one of many ways in which the migrant crisis is affecting the city, which has received over 120,000 new asylum seekers since last spring.
When asked by reporters about the open-air sex market, Adams the situation has been brought to him by local headers, and he has visited the area himself, confirming that ‘illegal’ activity is taking place publicly at all hours of the day and night.
The Democrat said the city’s ‘intel’ says many of the sex workers are Venezuelan women who have recently arrived to New York. It is unclear if those women were sex workers at home and if they are selling their bodies of their own free will, or if they have been trafficked and co-erced.
New York City ‘s red light district is being fueled by the migrant crisis, mayor Eric Adams said
Mayor Eric Adams said the city’s ‘intel’ says many of the sex workers are Venezuelan women who have recently arrived to New York
Sex workers have been seen walking the streets during the day, with many aggressively soliciting even as children get out of school or during their lunch hour
Adams continued: ‘This is what happens when you create an atmosphere that people can’t provide for themselves and have to turn to illegal activities to do so. When I talk about the spiraling impact of how this is going to affect our city, this is what I’m talking about. We are going to create generational problems based on the failure of the national government and that is one example.’
The mayor said the city has identified two locations of concern – one in East New York in Brooklyn and the other on Roosevelt Avenue. He said he will focus on prosecuting the Johns and giving assistance to the sex workers.
Prostitution is considered a Class B misdemeanor in New York, punishable by up to three months in jail and/or up to a $500 fine. Patronizing a prostitute is a Class A misdemeanor and punishable by up to one year in prison and/or up to a $1,000 fine.
The mayor also slammed local officials who are working ‘against the city’ to legalize sex work because they see it as dignified labor.
‘This is where idealism collides with realism… I’ve had elected officials tell me that the women are just trying work – “why are you trying to harm them?” – [but] there are real issues around illegal sex work, from STDs to sex trafficking girls to violence,’ he said.
Thousands of Venezuelan asylum seekers have been bused north after crossing the US-Mexico border by conservative Texas governor Greg Abbot. Most come from extreme poverty and have crossed the dangerous Darien Gap in their journey from the troubled socialist nation.
When asked by reporters about the open-air sex market, Adams the situation has been brought to him by local headers
The mayor said the city has identified two locations of concern – one in East New York and the other on Roosevelt Avenue (pictured above)
In September, the Biden administration issued temporary legal status for an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who had arrived in the country as of July 31. That was on top of the 242,000 who were previously covered under TPS grants in 2021 and 2022.
The Roosevelt Hotel in midtown has been called the new Ellis Island, as hundreds go through its doors every day requesting shelter and aid.
As New York deals with over 60,000 people in its care, city hall has has signed nearly 200 eyewatering emergency contracts totaling over $5billion to house and care for migrants.
After setting up hundreds of emergency shelters, the still is out of capacity and desperately looking for room to house migrants, as required by the city’s Right to Shelter Law, which Adams is trying to amend.
Migrants from Africa, Mexico, and Venezuela line up outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan in August. The hotel has been dubbed ‘Ellis Island’ as it’s where the migrants are being processed
A map from the Mayor’s Office showing the location and density of hotels and shelters which are officially known as Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers (HERRC)
When asked if City Hall is still considering tent camps, as previously reported by .com, Adams said all options remain on the table.
The Democrat said the city government is constantly having pivot their plans according to the arrival numbers, which vary from week to week.
Last week, about 2,500 migrants arrived in the city, but another week saw as many as 4,000 new arrivals, according to Adams.
As the city is out of space, Adams repeated that his goal is for no family or child to have to sleep on the street.
The mayor’s office previously said encampments at Central Park, Prospect Park and the Floyd Bennett Field are ‘on the table.’
With hotels and other locations combined, the city has opened at least 250 emergency shelters for migrants. Back in March, there were just 103, demonstrating how the crisis continues to worsen.