By: Jordan Baker

Fed-up Queens residents, business owners, and community leaders are sounding the alarm over the worsening situation on Roosevelt Avenue — and slamming Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for what they say is a total absence in the fight to reclaim the infamous “Market of Sweethearts.” As The New York Post reported, the corridor is overrun with prostitution, illegal vendors, and criminal activity — much of it tied to gangs exploiting the city’s migrant crisis.

“I have not personally seen Ocasio-Cortez since she’s been elected. I have not seen her in the community,” said Rosa Sanchez, president of the Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition. “I have seen her in a parade — that’s it,” she told The Post.

Stretching beneath the No. 7 subway line, the area lies partly in Ocasio-Cortez’s district and partly in Rep. Grace Meng’s. Despite police crackdowns and City Hall initiatives, the street-level chaos persists. Sanchez said unlicensed street vendors regularly hawk stolen goods, making it impossible for legitimate small businesses to survive — and allowing forced prostitution and human trafficking to flourish in the shadows.

“Young women are being trafficked right here in our neighborhood,” she said. “This is not normal. Our community is suffering,”

Mauricio Zamora, who heads the Neighbors of the American Triangle, was equally blunt: “She has never helped us with the big issues,” he said. He recently met with AOC to discuss illegal vending around Corona Plaza, but claimed she deflected responsibility, saying those problems fell under the city’s jurisdiction.

That hands-off stance drew comparisons to Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres, who has publicly demanded the mayor clean up similar open-air drug and prostitution markets in his own district — something AOC has refused to do for Roosevelt Avenue, The Post noted.

When The Post revisited the corridor this past Sunday, sex workers were openly soliciting clients under the tracks, while vendors sold shoplifted items like detergent and beer. “No, I have never seen AOC here,” said Jenny Leo, a pharmacist on Roosevelt Avenue. “I’ve seen the police. I’ve never seen AOC,” she added.

Local grocer David Ortega echoed the sentiment, saying crime and theft remain rampant. “They’re not afraid. Nothing is changing,” he told The Post. “Through it all, she doesn’t come here.”

Desperate for help, community leaders have even sent letters to the Trump administration, asking the FBI and Homeland Security to step in. Their concerns were validated when federal prosecutors recently charged members of a Salvadoran gang for running brothels, dealing drugs, and selling fake IDs along the corridor — using the migrant crisis to fuel their criminal network, The New York Post first reported.

Former Councilman Hiram Monserrate said Ocasio-Cortez must finally step up. “We want our Congresswoman to use her platform to bring in more police officers to stabilize the area,” he told The Post. “We want our community back.”

Operation Restore Roosevelt, a 90-day NYPD enforcement blitz, did reduce crime by 28%, according to city data. But since the surge ended, illegal activity has crept back in. Monserrate, who lives in East Elmhurst, said, “We need them back.”

Governor Kathy Hochul deployed 100 state troopers last fall to aid cleanup efforts, but residents say it’s not enough — and they’re baffled that their congresswoman remains on the sidelines.

AOC’s office defended her record. “The congresswoman is focused on solutions, not credit,” her spokeswoman Karla Santillan told The Post, pointing to her participation in vendor meetings and past cleanups around Corona Plaza.