Mayor Adams Provides 90-Day Progress Update of Multi-Agency Operation to Address Urgent Public Safety and Quality-of-Life Concerns Along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens

January 22, 2025

"Operation Restore Roosevelt" Resulted in Nearly 1,000 Arrests, Over 11,500 Summonses, 18 Vacate Orders Issued, and 223 Engagements Made with Homeless New Yorkers

Initiative Previously Announced by Mayor Adams and Councilmember Moya Focused on Illegal Brothels, Sex Trafficking, Unlicensed Vendors, and Other Quality-of-Life Concerns

Part of Mayor Adams' "Community Link Initiative," Intensive Government Response Effort That Has Already Responded to Over 800 Complaints and Conducted Over 600 Operations

New York – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the results after 90-days of a multi-agency enforcement operation – known as "Operation Restore Roosevelt" – aimed at addressing public safety and quality of life in the Elmhurst, North Corona, and Jackson Heights neighborhoods of Queens. The operation – part of the Adams administration's "Community Link" initiative – focused on addressing community concerns about prostitution, illegal brothels, unlicensed vendors and food carts, retail theft and the sale of stolen goods, and other quality-of-life offenses.

"The community spoke, and the administration delivered," said Mayor Adams. "Our community-driven approach, as embodied in successful programs like 'Community Link,' shows how we are working in partnership across agencies to address the concerns of every neighborhood across the city. Since its launch in October 2024, 'Operation Restore Roosevelt' continues to restore safety and deliver for New Yorkers. And our work here is not done – you will continue to see a police presence, as well as other various agencies in the corridor addressing quality-of-life and public safety issues."

"Over the past 90 days, the NYPD and our Community Link partners have taken targeted action to address the quality-of-life issues plaguing Roosevelt Avenue, and we know it's working. Overall crime is down 25 percent, and the surrounding area is cleaner and people feel safer," said New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. "We have made significant progress to address the community's concerns, and our officers will continue to do the work there every day to increase public safety and revitalize the neighborhood."

"My community is made up of working-class New Yorkers – many immigrants and the children of immigrants –and they deserve to have streets just as clean and feel just as safe as those living in any wealthier neighborhood," said New York City Councilmember Francisco Moya. "When we asked for Mayor Adams to bring us the resources we needed, he heard us, and he took action. Operation Roosevelt continues to improve our quality of life and as a lifelong resident of Corona, I couldn't be more proud to have partnered on this endeavor."

Since its launch in October 2024, the operation has achieved the following results in its effort to restore safety and order to the area while delivering resources for those impacted by the issues plaguing Roosevelt Avenue for decades:

• 985 arrests, including 134 prostitution-related offenses.
• 11,831 summonses.
• 464 confiscated vehicles, including 419 illegal two-wheeled vehicles and ATVs.
• 292 building inspections, resulting in 18 vacate orders and two locations padlocked by the New York City Sheriff's Office for illegal cannabis sales.
• 522 vendor inspections, resulting in 94 propane tanks confiscated, more than 15,000 pounds of food donated, and 370 pounds of food composted.
• 223 engagements with homeless New Yorkers.

Launched in May 2023, Community Link is a rapid governmental response initiative that identifies neighborhoods facing chronic and complex quality-of-life issues and organizes the right combination of agency, community, and external stakeholders to collaboratively address them. By taking a concentrated multi-agency approach and embedding them with community partners, Community Link works to address the root cause of pervasive issues and delivers the resources and services communities need to achieve meaningful progress. The central Community Link team coordinates with local police precincts and deploys multiple agencies into neighborhoods on a daily basis to address discreet problems, such as illegal vending; illicit cannabis shops; abandoned property and encampments; unkempt parks and streets; derelict vehicles; illegal ghost cars, dirt bikes, ATVs, mopeds, and pedicabs; loitering and disorderly groups; noise complaints; sanitation issues; illegal substance use activity; and more.

Led by City Hall, city agencies participating in Community Link operations include the Fire Department of the City of New York, the Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health, the Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, the New York City Department of Buildings, the New York City Department of Design and Construction, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York City Department of Homeless Services, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the New York City Department of Sanitation, the New York City Department of Small Business Services, the New York City Department of Transportation, New York City Emergency Management, the New York City Sheriff's Office, and the NYPD. Additionally, operations often include external partners, such as the New York State Police, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and various district attorneys' offices.

Community Link performs quality-of-life operations all over the city, including seven "Community Improvement Coalitions," major hubs with particularly complex conditions that have and continue to receive a sustained level of enforcement and coordination. These include 125th Street, 110th Street Corridor, Midtown West, East 14th Street, Washington Square Park, and "The Hub" in the Bronx, in addition to Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. With a focus on delivering services and offering support to those in need, over 4,800 individuals were engaged by homeless outreach teams and over 200 were placed in shelter across these hubs alone.

Initiatives, such as Community Link, and Mayor Adams' overall community-driven approach to public safety, have contributed to the Adams administration's recent achievements in reducing crime across New York City. For example, 2024 concluded with a nearly 3 percent reduction in overall index crime, which equates to 3,662 fewer incidents and thousands of fewer victims of violence and disorder across the five boroughs. The index crime categories of murder, robbery, burglary, grand larceny, and grand larceny auto each saw sizable reductions across New York City in 2024. The NYPD's laser-focus on criminals who use illegal guns drove significant declines for the third straight year in both the number of shooting incidents – which were down 7.3 percent – and the number of shooting victims – which were down 4.2 percent. Additionally, 2024 was the second consecutive year of index crime decline within the nation's largest subway system, with a 5.4 percent reduction.

"Roosevelt Avenue is a beloved corridor of our city, and we are doing everything possible to make it the most vibrant and safe it has ever been," said New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. "I passed the SMOKEOUT Act to authorize closing the illegal smoke shops, which allowed the city to issue 18 vacate orders in this neighborhood. Mayor Adams launched the multi-agency "Operation Restore Roosevelt" campaign to crack down on illegal vendors, trafficking, retail theft, and other issues. Agencies jumped into action, conducting over 600 operations and 12,000 enforcement measures in only three months. Together, we will stamp out illegal activity and make Roosevelt Avenue a vibrant, welcoming place for all New Yorkers."

"Families and residents have the right to feel safe in their own neighborhoods," said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. "Operation Restore Roosevelt has enhanced the work of my office to seek accountability for those managing illegal brothels in the area and sexually exploiting vulnerable individuals for their own gain. Since the launch of the operation in October, we have processed 266 felony and 533 misdemeanor arrests. We have also offered services to more than 60 individuals engaged in prostitution. Close to 40 percent of those individuals have accepted services which include sessions with our partner agencies to address trauma therapy, crisis intervention, case management to assist with immigration, legal advocacy, education, applying for public benefits, and other services. This dedicated multi-agency effort has served as a deterrent for the illegal activity plaguing this area and we are proud of the results achieved thus far."