Illegal migrants have recently taken over a block in New York City and turned it into an open-air market, selling stolen goods at deep discounts, the New York Post reported.
Roosevelt Avenue near 91st Street in Jackson Heights has been turned into an illicit market where migrants sell everything from mouthwash to power tools stolen from local merchants.
Migrants arrive each morning with suitcases filled with ill-gotten items that they ransacked from local establishments. Many sellers display the items for sale by laying them on a blanket on the sidewalk, offering 20% to 30% discounts.
Francisco O’Porta, a security guard for a local department store, told the news outlet that the migrants are stealing from his employer.
“They rip it out of the box, but it’s ours. You can see. It is brand-new, but they are selling it as used. It’s our stuff,” O’Porta remarked.
“They have been training people,” he continued. “They 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.”
Milton Reyes, who manages a pharmacy on Roosevelt Avenue, told the Post that the issues in the area are “relentless.”
“You should see it on Saturdays. It’s so heavy, you can’t even step onto the sidewalk. There are a lot of doctors’ offices right around here, and my customers don’t even want to get dropped off,” Reyes stated.
He noted that he does not blame local law enforcement for the issues.
“They will come by and they will pick up a few of them. But as soon as the police car pulls away, they start moving back. Twenty minutes later, they’re all set up again like nothing happened,” Reyes explained.
For months, residents have complained about sex workers standing along the street propositioning those who pass by. The Post reported that several buildings in the area are functioning as brothels.
Earlier this year, police closed down a dozen establishments that were being used for prostitution. However, the illegal activity has continued.
One source told the Post, “Roosevelt Avenue is the microcosm — a perfect storm composed of lunatic legislation that prevents enforcement of laws and the subsequent punitive results.”
“Add to that waves of people with nothing to lose and you have criminality and degradation in quality of life for the community — and the city as a whole,” the source added.
Zhou H., a local, told the news outlet that the open-air market has expanded within the last year.
“I don’t know what’s ever going to get rid of this,” Zhou said. “It’s 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.
“But I thought, these people aren’t getting the kind of opportunities, they need to feed themselves, you know, they’re trying to survive, so, whatever,” he stated. “About a year ago, there’s five of them, starting at 10 in the morning. Then 10 of them and then there’s 20 of them all day. At night? Forget about it!
Zhou noted that the illegal activity in the area has “just become normal.”
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