A section of Jackson Heights has turned into an illegal migrant shopping area, where an unregulated open-air market sells everything from stolen goods to services like prostitution, according to The Post’s investigation.
On Roosevelt Avenue near 91st Street, migrant vendors line the streets daily, selling items they have stolen from nearby shops. Prostitutes approach passersby at all hours, causing frustration among merchants and residents who feel powerless to address the situation.
âItâs relentless,â said Milton Reyes, manager of Mi Farmacia pharmacy on the avenue. âYou should see it on Saturdays. Itâs so heavy you canât even step onto the sidewalk. There are a lot of doctorâs offices right around here, and my customers donât even want to get dropped off.”
Migrant vendors display stolen merchandise for resale at discounted prices, with items like mouthwash, diapers, and baby formula laid out on blankets or beach towels on the sidewalk.
The stolen goods are stored in suitcases inside vans parked across the street, and vendors set up their displays starting in the morning. One vendor even used a stolen Target shopping cart to transport items during a recent business day.
When a reporter and photographer from The Post arrived, the vendors scattered, thinking they were police officers. However, they resumed their activities once the news crew passed by.
Sex workers openly solicit clients on the street, with older women acting as madams pointing out potential customers as they walk by.
One law enforcement source attributed the situation to lenient laws that limit police actions and release low-level offenders quickly after arrest.
âRoosevelt Avenue is the microcosm â a perfect storm composed of lunatic legislation that prevents enforcement of laws and the subsequent punitive results,â the source said.
âAdd to that waves of people with nothing to lose and you have criminality and degradation in quality of life for the community â and the city as a whole.â
Open-air prostitution has been a problem on parts of Roosevelt Avenue for months, with a seedy âMarket of Sweetheartsâ offering sex for sale on the street or in walk-up buildings used as brothels.
In January, police closed down a dozen brothels for illegal activities and unsanitary conditions, but the sex trade resumed shortly after.
In Jackson Heights, prostitutes now share the area with migrant vendors who steal from local retailers and sell the stolen goods at a lower price just steps away from the stores, causing harm to legitimate businesses.
âThey are stealing,â said Francisco OâPorta, a security guard at âLot-Less.â âThey rip it out of the box, but itâs ours. You can see. It is brand new, but they are selling it as used. Itâs our stuff.
âThey have been training people,â OâPorta added. âThey have lookouts, you know, people to yell so they can pick up and leave when police come. I am catching a lot, a lot of them stealing. I caught 20 people last week. Twenty in one week. They are hurting business.â
Despite constant complaints from customers, calls to 311 by shopkeepers have had little effect on stopping the lawlessness.
âI donât know whatâs ever going to get rid of this,â said one local resident. âItâs like a sub-economy. Everybody buys from these guys. There was a few, mostly at night. Kind of like a bazaar. About a year ago, it built up.
âBut I thought, these people arenât getting the kind of opportunities, they need to feed themselves, you know, theyâre trying to survive so, whatever,â he said. âAbout a year ago, thereâs five of them, starting at 10 in the morning. Then 10 of them and then thereâs 20 of them all day. At night? Forget about it!
âItâs just become normal,â he added.
