Improving New Yorkers' Quality of Life Block by Block
By Mayor Eric Adams Op-Ed Queens Voice November 4, 2024 NEW YORK - Recently, I was with community leaders and senior officials in our administration on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, which is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in our city. It is where New Yorkers from all over the world come to live, work, raise their families, and strive for the American Dream. However, Roosevelt Avenue — a major thoroughfare with the 7 train running above it — has become a site of crime, disorder, and exploitation as illegal brothels, illicit vendors, and unlicensed food carts have taken over and quality-of-life offenses have skyrocketed. It was not my first-time visiting the neighborhood. In January, I was there as we shut down 12 illegal brothels. And year to date, the NYPD has made over 3,000 arrests and issued over 9,500 summonses in the area. But we know arrests and summonses alone won’t get the job done, and that we must bring together partners from across government to address the chall