A sleazy Queens brothel is selling sex across the street from two public elementary schools near the notorious migrant “Market of Sweethearts,” say fed-up locals, who are mounting a campaign to shut it down.
The illegal sex shop is the latest example of criminal activity around the infamous strip in Jackson Heights, an area law-enforcement sources suspect could be affiliated with the cutthroat Tren de Aragua gang.
“No good,” neighborhood mom Maria Gonzales told The Post of the brothel Sunday. “The school is just there. C’mon, no good. My husband go and say to them, ‘Not here. Too close, the ninos.’ They say, ‘OK, OK, OK.’
“Crazy,” she said. “We need police. Everyone calls, but no police coming.”
The situation is publicly surfacing just days after the NYPD raided a 24-hour prostitution operation on nearby Roosevelt Avenue, where the so-called “Market of Sweethearts” hooker strip is located.
But locals near the latest uncovered brothel say this situation is even worse because the sex shop is across the street from PS 19 and PS 307.
“As a mother, we always worry about the safety and welfare of our children,” Ileana Martinez, whose two children attend the schools, said in a statement. “But what we see near Roosevelt Avenue now is terrifying. Hopefully someone will respond to the CEC resolution.”
The resolution, which is due to be submitted to Community Education Council 24 at its meeting Tuesday, calls for city schools officials, police and Mayor Eric Adams team up to shut down the brothel and crack down on other criminal activity in the neighborhood.
“This request aligns with the NYC [Department of Education’s] commitment to ensuring that all students are provided a safe and supportive environment, crucial for fostering their academic success and social-emotional growth,” the resolution reads.
Images from the brothel scene show that a wooden panel and a wooden door have been built at the rear of the business, where apparent prostitutes sit nearby, hoping to lure in johns.
“It’s been there for a while,” said a local resident who would only identify himself as Luis, 67.
“It used to just be just a bodega and the part where they sell the girls now, they used to sell the flowers,” he said. “Some groceries inside now but not like before. Before it was a big store with everything. The hot food, the groceries. Now they closed it off to half the size.
“They don’t have many things. They needed room for the beds maybe.”
The Post has published several reports about the illegal migrant open-air market along Roosevelt Avenue, where stolen goods are sold on the sidewalk and women walk the street peddling themselves.
The unruly strip comes as tens of thousands of migrants have flooded into the Big Apple since 2022, with hordes resorting to shoplifting and prostitution to make ends meet or pay off their debt to human smugglers.
Queens Democratic district leader Hiram Monserrate has been among those blowing the whistle on the seedy goings-on in his borough — and has now raised concerns about the newly exposed brothel.
“Our community is crying out for help,” Monserrate said. “Rescue Roosevelt Avenue. Protect our children. We do not need backpack giveaways, we don’t need political rhetoric. We need more cops, counselors and a massive intervention for this community.
“The NYPD needs to shut this brothel down now,” he added in a statement. “The Roosevelt Avenue Corridor remains lawless and unsafe.”
