Neighbors relived after Queens brothel bust
NEW YORK - One of the alleged brothels that was raided by police and shut down yesterday on Roosevelt Avenue and 95th Street in Jackson Heights remains closed Friday.
By late afternoon a woman showed up trying to pull down the gate. When asked by FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso if she worked there, the woman walked away, saying "I don't work here, I don't work."
According to the NYPD on Thursday afternoon it shut down at least 6 brothels in Queens. At first glance, they looked like massage parlors, but police say what was happening within the walls of the shops was clear sex trafficking and prostitution.
One woman who lived nearby told FOX 5 NY that women would stand outside at all hours of the day, trying to entice men to come inside.
Suspect arrested and charged in rape of 10-year-old girl in East Harlem
Police say that Drequan Drayton-Howard, 23, met the victim using the online social media app Bumble, and took her to an apartment in East Harlem where he raped her.
Video shows just how filthy and tight it was in one of the businesses, with curtains separating the beds.
The conditions were inhumane, according to Mayor Eric Adams.
Now, a day later, residents say they're not sure what took so long for the brothels to be closed.
"I don't believe police didn't know what was happening here. There are so many of these places. I'm so happy they closed them down. I feel safer and more comfortable walking out of my house," said one woman who lives next door, but did not want to be identified.
No arrests were made during the raids. Authorities say the women who worked at the alleged brothels are victims, and they want to get them help.
Those operating them have not been arrested either.