Transcript: Mayor Adams, Councilmember Moya Launch Multi Agency Operation to Address Urgent Public Safety and Quality of Life Concerns Along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens

October 15, 2024

Deputy Mayor Chauncey Parker, Public Safety: Good evening, everyone. I'm Chauncey Parker, deputy mayor for public safety. Thank you all for joining us tonight for the Mayor's Briefing on Operation Restore Roosevelt. We're joined by multi-agency partners, community partners, business partners, and in particular also two key organizations, the National Organization of Women and the Sanctuary for Families with Alexi Ashe Meyers and Sonia Ossorio from the National Organization of Women will be speaking a little bit later.

This initiative is a great example of the mayor's North Star and the future of New York City, which is all of us working together for a common goal, and that is to reduce crime, improve the quality of life, and now it's my honor to introduce the mayor of the City of New York, Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thanks so much, D.M., and really want to thank all of our partners that are here and the work that they're doing, particularly the proactive organizations that understand prostitution is a crime against women, and by having the right partners here has not only been punitive, but given them the resources they need as they move from a life of on the street.

Really, when you look at some of the sex trafficking, when you look at some of the actions against these women, we want to give them an alternative and a place out. A district attorney here in Queens is in support of that and all of the district attorneys across our entire city, and again, Councilman Moya has really led this charge, added his voice to this initiative that we started last year, but after seeing that the results were not where we wanted them to be, Commissioner Daughtry put in place this task force that he will explain with a cross-section of people that are involved, but we're putting the manpower behind it because these residents deserve more.

One of the residents stopped me and spoke with me just now and stated that his children don't want to walk in this area. This beautiful plaza should be used by the residents of this community. We would not allow this to happen in communities that are extremely affluent. It should not happen anywhere in our city. That's why we're here, and the manpower is real.

Nine lieutenants, 42 sergeants, 176 police officers, and they took action today. One of the most important target areas was one of the brothels on 95-45 Roosevelt, a place where prostitution was taking place, and we saw the cross-section of our city agencies. NYPD were there to take action. The Department of Building took their necessary steps, and the [FDNY], the Fire Department, also played a role in the initiative that took place, and we offered services to the women who were there that were participating in illegal activity. We offered service to them to make sure that they understood that it was not about enforcement only. It was about giving the services to those who are in need.

The Department of Sanitation is extremely important in this initiative because our streets must be clean. We can't have our trash receptacles being overrun with trash. It is our goal to make sure that we keep the area clean. We picked up the date to remove the trash from the area, and we want to do far much more. So hats off to District Attorney Katz, our partner, as well as the Queens Borough President and Councilman Francisco Moya. Thank you for really voicing this concern over and over again about the quality of life for the people in this city. And we're here on Roosevelt Avenue to say no more, to ensure that people are able to enjoy their community. This is a hard-working community with many immigrants, a part of this community that makes it a vibrant and thriving community.

They want to walk Roosevelt Avenue free from feeling as though they cannot enjoy the community that they are attempting to raise their children and families. Over the past few months, we have seen this neighborhood being taken over by illegal brothels, illicit vendors, unlicensed food carts. We went after several cannabis shops. The sheriff was here with cannabis shops to make sure that we looked at 12 different illegal cannabis shops.

Two, we were able to close, and we're going to continue with follow-up to make sure we look at every area that is impacting the quality of life of this community. So thank you, FDNY, Department of Builders, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Homeless Services, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City Parks, the Department of Sanitation, the Department of Small Business Services, the Department of Transportation, Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, and the Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health.

This is the full complement of our city's services and outreach and resources, as well as MTA and the New York State Police, who's part of this initiative, and as I stated, the Queens County District Attorney's Office. Governor Hochul has clearly understood how important this is to have the state police here and participate in this initiative. We will end sex trafficking in this area. We're not here for one day and go away. We're here for the problem to go away, and I commend all those who are participating in this initiative. Again, thanks to all our partners. Let's make sure Roosevelt Avenue is a place where we can enjoy and raise healthy children and families. Thank you, D.M.

Deputy Mayor Parker: Thank you, Mayor Adams. Our next speaker is the Police Commissioner for the NYPD, Thomas Donlon.

Interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon: Okay, thank you, Chauncey, and thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good evening. Every person who resides and works along this Roosevelt Avenue corridor deserves a clean and safe neighborhood, and that's why this multi-agency task force operation is going to deliver. It's important that we work together with our partners on the task force. It's the only way we can accomplish our goals here.

Under Mayor Eric Adams' leadership, public safety has improved in neighborhoods across the city, and over the next three months, we'll be focused on collective efforts here. This is about listening to the people in this community and finding permanent solutions to long-standing issues. So please, keep in contact with the NYPD with any information you may have. That's very, very important. We don't work in a vacuum. It's a collaborative effort between everyone who has a stake in our public safety, and of course, that's all of you and all of us.

So the NYPD will be working to reduce retail theft and the sale of stolen goods, additionally, removing illegal, unlicensed vendors and illegal vehicles in the surrounding area, which is important to all of you. And also, eliminating prostitution, which has been a big factor in this area. We will address criminal and quality of life concerns and we'll be working with our city and state agencies every step of the way. Mayor Adams has seen this cooperative model work before throughout his entire career, even with the New York City Police Department where he retired as a captain. And we fully are confident it will work here also.

So I thank the mayor for bringing this coalition together. I should say, we all thank, and we thank all our partners, again, agency and community leaders who have come together, and local elected officials working for the residents and businesses along Roosevelt Avenue. We have all the same goal here, increasing public safety and improving quality of life. That's what the people in this neighborhood demand, and it's what they deserve, and what the NYPD will get the job done very, very soon. Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Parker: Thank you, Commissioner Donlon. Our next speaker is our great partner, Councilmember Francisco Moya.

Councilmember Francisco Moya: Good evening. I'm Councilmember Francisco Moya, and today we're here to take clear action on Roosevelt Avenue and address the issues of the quality of life issues that have impacted my community for far too long. I'm born and raised right here in Corona, Queens. This is my train station. I live six blocks that way. If it wasn't for the mayor, who took my call three years ago, and this is how he acted. As soon as I called him to tell him what was happening here, he showed up. He didn't hesitate. He came here at 12 o'clock in the morning, walked these streets with the police captain and saw what was going on, and he took action. And I have to thank you, mayor, because you have been at the forefront of fighting for the quality of life in this city, in particular this area in Roosevelt Avenue, when we first had that call three years ago.

Thank you to you and your leadership and to all those who have been responding to these issues regarding the illegal massage parlors, the unregulated street vending, and the unsanitary conditions that have spiraled out of control along Roosevelt Avenue. And the response that we have had has been to also call for the establishment of the Roosevelt Avenue Task Force, which has facilitated communication between my office and various city agencies. This collaboration has allowed us to gather essential information to effectively tackle the problem we face. And so today, I'm proud to see the administration introducing Community Link to Roosevelt Avenue. This initiative will ensure that no issues get lost between the agencies that we all are working together. I remain committed to the Roosevelt Avenue Task Force, which will now function as a reporting mechanism for the Community Link operation, keeping my office informed and focused on guiding our efforts to address the right issues effectively.

In addition to collaborating with these efforts, I've also introduced two key pieces of legislation aimed at addressing the challenges that we face in this community. One of the bills would create a city licensing system for massage businesses, requiring them to obtain proper credentials to operate legally in the city of New York. This change will help us target illegal operators while protecting legitimate massage therapists that are being unfairly associated with the unethical businesses.

Another important piece of legislation mandates that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene establish health standards for massage establishments, including penalties for non-compliance. These measures will focus on ensuring that all equipment and areas are properly cleaned, disinfected and safeguarded, the health and safety of the clients and the workers. And additionally, with the great support that we have had from the Department of Sanitation, we've also brought in the ACE program, and we funded the New York City Department of Police precinct to oversee the areas specifically that have been the biggest challenges in this area. It's time for real change, and without your support, Mayor Adams, and all the agencies involved, with your support, Mayor Adams, and all the agencies involved, I'm confident that we will restore order to Roosevelt Avenue and rebuild the community that we all love here.

Deputy Mayor Parker: Thank you so much, Councilmember Moya. Our next speaker is one of the key architects of the mayor's partnership, and that is NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Kaz Daughtry.

Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry, Operations, Police Department: Thank you, and congratulations, Deputy Mayor Parker. Thank you all for being here. Today marks the beginning of a critical coordinated effort between the NYPD and our partners. After walking these streets, speaking to the community, and personally observing the conditions on Roosevelt Avenue, we knew it was paramount to put together this operation. This operation, which is set to span for the next 90 days, I want to say it again, for the next 90 days, will focus on Roosevelt Avenue from 74th Street to 111th Street. Thank you.

Our initial response location, which is here, Roosevelt Avenue and 104th Street, but the impact of this work will resonate beyond these blocks. Over the last 60 days, we have closely monitored activity in the area, and it was clear that immediate action was necessary. For example, illegal brothels, unlicensed vendors, unregistered mopeds, and food carts operating without proper permits diminished the quality of life within this community. It is our responsibility to ensure Roosevelt Avenue becomes a place where families can live and work free from fear of disorder and crime. One of the most heinous crimes that we are tackling in this operation is human sex trafficking. Our top priority is to rescue and support victims of sex trafficking.

We will work closely with social service organizations, including the Department of Homeless Services, DHS, to provide safe housing, medical care, counseling, and legal support for these victims. We will make it clear we will not stop until every victim is rescued and every trafficker is put behind bars where they belong. One of the major concerns expressed by the neighborhood is about displacement, about the problem simply moving down the block once we begin enforcement action. Let me assure you that we have anticipated this problem.

This is why the NYPD has partnered with the multiple agencies that you see behind me represented here today to provide long-term permanent solution to those problems. We will be monitoring adjacent neighborhoods and ensuring that these operations lead to continuous change. We are not simply going to put a band-aid on this issue. We are here to create lasting security for the community in this neighborhood. This community deserves better, and that's why we are here today. We will not rest until Roosevelt Avenue is a place where people feel safe, respected, and able to thrive. This is not just about enforcement, it's about reclaiming the streets for the people who live, work in this community. Together we will see this through. Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Parker: Thank you, Commissioner Daughtry. And our final speaker is Sonia Ossorio, who is the president of the National Organization of Women and a tireless, long-standing fighter, warrior, supporter of survivors and crime victims. Sonia.

Sonia Ossorio, President, National Organization of Women: Hello thank you so much. Thank you Mayor Adams. You promised the women of this city last year that you were going to focus on this and you have done exactly this. This is not the first time you've been out here and you have promised and you have delivered on this. Deputy Commissioner Daughtry, I mean he has led all the sting operations from East New York to Roosevelt Island to make sure that we can protect women, was mentioned here, restore Roosevelt. We want to restore dignity to the women of this city who are lured, forced, and find themselves trapped in the sex trade.

And I'd also like to recognize the outstanding human trafficking unit of the NYPD. They every day commit themselves to helping women and young girls find a way out of this life and to arresting the sex buyers and the traffickers. They are the ones that fuel this. This is a quality of life issue, but sex buying isn't a quality of life issue or a low level offense. It's a harmful male cultural practice of sexual entitlement. It is illegal paid for sexual misconduct. It has degraded our city and harmed so many. We've got to focus on them. And what I can tell, what men of this city need to know is that deputy commissioner is more than happy to impound your car at any time that you are coming into our city and trying to buy sex from the women here, because our women are not for sale.

At the state level, the National Organization for Women and all of our partners, Sanctuary for Families, Coalition Against Trafficking for Women, are working on an important bill, Sex Trade Survivors Justice and Equality Act, so that we can increase services for women and girls and trans individuals in the sex trade, vacate prostitution convictions and shrink the sex trade. That is what we have to do to keep our community safe. We are also asking the New York Legislature to repeal the five-year statute of limitations on sex trafficking. For all the work that we are out here doing, we cannot even prosecute these criminals with a short window of five years, when so many of the girls and women who are recruited and lured into the sex trade, it happens when they're still girls, when they're teenagers. And that's not right.

Quiero hablar un momentito con todas las mujeres. Si ustedes necesitan ayuda, estamos aquí para ti. Hay una agencia que se llama Sanctuary for Families. Te pueden ayudar con cualquier cosa. Si necesitas un hotel, un lugar para ir, un doctor, cualquier cosa, estamos aquí para ti. Yo trabajo para la Organización Nacional para la Mujer. Llámame. Yo te puedo ayudar en cualquier momento. Tenemos un sitio, N-O-W-N-Y-C punto org. Estamos aquí para ayudarte. Gracias.

Translation: I want to talk to all the women for a minute. If you need help, we're here for you. There's an agency called Sanctuary for Families. They can help you with anything. If you need a hotel, a place to go, a doctor, anything, we're here for you. I work for the National Organization for Women. Call me. I can help you anytime. We have a site, N-O-W-N-Y-C.org - we're here to help you. Thank you.

Question: I don't know if I understood very well what you said about the 90 days, what's going to happen after 90 days. Is the resources limited? Is this thing here to stay or not? And… Moya, please.

Can you, obviously there's a community here, Spanish-speaking community, which is what most you see around your community. Can you tell them a little bit in Spanish what's happening, what's going to happen, what we can expect to see in the next 90 days and beyond 90 days?

Mayor Adams: It's important here to take an abnormal situation and normalize what communities look like. This is a hard-working community, and when you speak to the parents that are here, they talk about how challenging it is to walk the streets for their children to see open sex trafficking, men picking up women and the open drug sales.

Some of the arrests that were made was for criminal possession of controlled substance. And so the goal here is to use the 90-day period to stabilize, build community engagement and involvement, because you don't want a permanent presence of this magnitude in a community. You want the community to take control, the community to be able to report when they see these infractions, and you want to empower the community, and that's why we see a cross-section of agencies that are here.

We want to empower the community, not to come in and control the community, because it is not good for children to see a constant presence of police also. We want to make sure that the community know that they are powerful enough to be self-sustaining and to identify what their future is going to look like.

Councilmember Moya: El tema es muy importante de lo que está hablando el alcalde, es que esos 90 días que van a estar aquí, todas las agencias van a estar juntos para trabajar a resolver todos los problemas que se [están] viendo aquí por todo el corredor de Roosevelt Avenue. Sabemos que va a haber la presencia también de la policía, pero lo que quiero hacer es también empoderar a nuestra comunidad, que otra vez pueda tomar el mando de control aquí en su comunidad. Van a estar aquí asistiendo en los diferentes temas e inquietudes que se ve de la calidad de vida, prostitución, la basura, los vendedores ambulantes. La presencia, y estar aquí constantemente por 90 días, es lo que va a ayudar a establecer la orden aquí en la comunidad.

Translation: The issue that the mayor is talking about is very important, and that for the 90 days that they will be here, all the agencies will be together to work to resolve all the problems that are being seen here along the Roosevelt Avenue corridor. We know that there will also be a police presence, but what he wants to do is also empower our community, so that they can once again take control here in their community. They will be here assisting with the different issues and concerns that are seen regarding quality of life, prostitution, garbage, street vendors. The presence and being here constantly for 90 days is what will help establish order here in the community.

Question: Can you explain a little bit how this task force is going to crack down on the prostitution that's happening behind closed doors and some of these disguised businesses, not the prostitution happening in the street?

Deputy Commissioner Daughtry: Can you say the first part again?

Question: Sure. I said, how is this task force going to crack down on the prostitution happening behind closed doors and some of these illegal massage parlors, not just the prostitution happening out in the open?

Deputy Commissioner Daughtry: Thank you very much. That's a very good question. What we're doing is we're surveying, we're cueing the 911 calls for the illegal prostitution, and also we're getting tips from the community. A lot of community folks have told the officers on the street when they ask them, what are you guys doing here? They tell them that we're here with the multi-agency task force, that we're looking for the illegal brothels, we're looking for the illegal massage parlors, and we must have gotten tons, tons of information just from the community from being here from 1 o'clock until about 5:30.

Also, we're curating our confidential informants to find out where the illegal brothels are located at, and when I tell you, when this is all over and when we kind of do a debriefing and we update the New Yorkers in this neighborhood of exactly how many illegal massage parlors and brothels are in this neighborhood, the numbers are probably going to blow your mind.

Councilmember Moya: Can I add one thing to that? I just want to add one thing on the illegal massage parlors because that's the two bills that I was talking about before that we introduced here, that we would now have them be regulated and have a license so that we can identify, obviously this is not a legal establishment because you need a license to actually run an establishment like a massage parlor, and also would have the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene come in and inspect just like they would at a regular restaurant.

Right now, if you are a masseuse, and we have the Masseuse Association that supports this bill, is that we want to ensure that, just like any other business now, a barbershop, a nail salon, you have to have a business license to operate. If you do not have that, that gives access to the agency to come in and close it down if they are not an actual massage parlor.

Question: Why has it been so hard to get a handle on this? It's been generations that this has been a problem in this neighborhood. Why has it been such a persistent problem that's taken this to hopefully solve?

Mayor Adams: I think it's a combination. As the National Organization of Women pointed out, you don't want to be heavy-handed on women who are trapped in sex trafficking. Some of these actions are taking place behind doors. There's a lot of rules we have to carry out. It's a challenge when you want to make sure you go after the Johns, you want to make sure you go after the pimps, and you want to make sure you give support to the women who are trapped in this.

As Commissioner Daughtry was saying, an arrest was made a few days ago, and then another action took place. They went into a brothel, and they found the women back in the brothel. So there's a lot that needs to be done to identify the needs of the women who are participating, make sure they get the support around housing, around employment, around knowing that this is not the only type of life they have to live. So it's a very delicate action, and that's why we have the full complement of all these agencies here to say we have to have a holistic approach if we're going to make a real impact on the problem that we're facing.

Question: I just want to know, what happens after these brothels are closed? Because we've heard reports of some of them being shut down, and then they pop back up. And then also, what about the landlords who are allowing these to happen? Do they face any consequences?

Deputy Commissioner Daughtry: So that's exactly why we have this multitude agency approach that you see behind us. When we shut these brothels down, we want to go in with the Buildings Department, we want to go in with the Fire Department, we want to go in with fire prevention. The Buildings Department has a list of all of the owners' information. So once we go in and shut them down with the Buildings Department, we want to make it harder for them to open back up. We know this, that they may go to a friend's name, or I think they call it the brother law, where they can go to a family member's name or somebody in the community to put the business in their name. We're working with the district attorney's office to stop that.

And I can tell you, I know I'm committed, I know everybody behind me here is committed, the mayor is committed, and the message to the brothels and the illegal massage parlors, we are going to shut all of you down before this 90 days are over. We are coming for you.

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