Nov. 1, 2016 By Hannah Wulkan
Plans are in the works to clean up the gritty section of Roosevelt Avenue running through Woodside, several local politicians announced this morning.
The proposal comes on the heels of a plan announced by State Senator Jose Peralta in August to clean up Roosevelt Avenue in the Jackson Heights and Corona neighborhoods.
Peralta shared a proposal in August to limit liquor licenses and target crime along Roosevelt Avenue from 74th to 114th Street, specifically surrounding seedy nightclubs and bars.
Today, State Senator Michael Gianaris and Assembly Member Michael DenDekker announced an extension of the plan down in to the stretch of Roosevelt Avenue in the 50s and 60s through Woodside.
“We’re calling on Roosevelt Avenue, this part of Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside to get extra attention, “ Gianaris said, asking for increased efforts by law enforcement and city agencies to crack down on issuing fines and violations along the strip.
In his announcement in August, Peralta compared Roosevelt Avenue to the Times Square of the 90s before it was cleaned up, saying that there was an “urgent need” to clean up the area.
He pointed to major issues on Roosevelt Avenue, including drugs, gangs, prostitution, $2 dance bars, sex trafficking, fake IDs, employment agency scams, and rental scams.
“Unfortunately it’s no different on this part of Roosevelt Avenue farther west,” Gianaris said.
“This is not about denigrating Roosevelt Avenue. Roosevelt Avenue is a vibrant Avenue. Roosevelt Avenue is eclectic, I love Roosevelt Avenue,” Peralta said. “But it’s about eliminating the bad actors that try to hide in between the good actors.”
The plan outlined by the politicians is multifaceted. Peralta, DenDekker and Gianaris are working to put together a task force made up of members of many city agencies to come up with a plan to clean up Roosevelt Avenue and to encourage collaboration between agencies.
Peralta has proposed legislation to increase the penalty for cabaret license violations from $1,000 to $10,000, so it can no longer be viewed as simply a “cost of doing business,” he said.
He has also introduced legislation to ensure that any fines collected by the State Liquor Authority get reinvested back in to the SLA, ensuring there is enough funding for investigations in to establishments that violate their liquor licenses.
Peralta added that he was also calling on the City Council to increase the budget of the Department of Consumer Affairs to put together a night crew to keep watch for illegal establishments.
“This isn’t about the restaurants that are doing it correctly, this is not about those storefronts that are doing it well, this is about the $2 dance bars that exist and those establishments that are breaking the law,” Peralta said.
“We’re looking forward to trying to resurrect Roosevelt Avenue in the evening for more new businesses, new restaurants, new opportunities for the people who live here,” DenDekker said.
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48 Comments
Biguyy- nice story. Your friend lived there thats why you were there. YEAH SURE! You were there because you were “shopping” for a tranny or a nice young man. Nice story once again
Id like to know how they will rate the good bars and the bad bars. Whats the criteria?
W/T- they are saying chica chica, meaning girls. In your case they probably said chico (boys)
That’s really good idea.. too many illegal activities going on stretching from 69st to 101st Roosevelt ave.. Some body ask me Chekee chekee while i was walking..It means u wanna f**k.. Drugs and sex is very open.. Shut this illegal stuff for gud and make this place safer?
Those shady bars, and business(if prostitution and drugs can be called like that) bring the worse to the neighborhood, when you guys walking around at 9am holding a bottle on brown bag something is wrong, no place is very good, or perfect, it is not a gated community, specially when you have subway right there, but restriction on type of business it is imperative to create a decent area.
Yo B, dey need to leeve rosavelt ave the way it be. Yoall kin git anythin yo need there. Guys , gurls, guys dat ar gurls. Jus leeve it be yo
JVB will never get rid of the boom boom bar on roosevelt
Jeez, what a bunch of Puritans! Gentrifiction will allow for the more refined abuse of drugs and humans. The gentrifiers will have their drugs delivered to their home just as they order out for their hookers. It makes for a nicer neighborhood…on the surface.
Yep, clean it up for the new folks and just pis all over us old folks.
Cleaning up is good and Roosevelt badly needs it. But the reason behind this change at this time is not just to clean up. It is to gentrify. And gentrification is not a natural process of change. The way Roosevelt is now is a result of natural change. What you will see here is ten years will be no immigrants except wealthy ones. They are cleaning up the bad folks now and will clean out the good ones right afterward.
please not the $2 dollar spot’s leave them alone!!!!
Thank goodness. I remember years ago hanging out in the area because a friend lived near by. At night it was the worst. You had tannys hooking and what looked like young gay adults (some even liked like teens) doing the same. They would hang out in the corners or outside the bars and wait for cars to pull up. Drugs dealings were also very evident. So glad finally this place is being fixed up. Shame it took so long.
Correction: You had transvestites hooking (prostituting) and what looked like young gay adults (some even looked like teens) doing the same.
I’m in total agreement with the effort to clean up Roosevelt Avenue. This has been an ongoing problem for the last 25 years. The Woodside area isn’t as infested as Jackson Heights and Corona, but any effort to wipe the scum off the streets is fine with me.
These bars act as a hub for prostitution, many of these women are victims of illegal trafficking and the sex trade. If this means some higher rents, then so be it. I’m born and raised along the 7 line and have see many half-hearted efforts by police and politicians to address this without many results. It’s about time a real plan is implemented. I welcome this. No more of these “cubetazo” bars ,”chica houses” and transexual prostitutes. If you do not support this then you obviously haven’t lived here long enough.
The prostitution is definitely out of hand and the drugs that definitely needs to go. The bars well if these clowns Wana pay 2$ to dance with a woman then let it be that’s there business.
Trump hasn’t been in woodside since he was 5 yrs old and took him to barco’s. Yeah ,thats right barco’s. None of you people remember barco’s do ya.
I do. My mother bought me a baton and an outfit for my Barbie doll. Loved the place.
I do I liked the ice cream
Good actors,bad actors, is peralta crazy
To clean up Roosevelt you would have to deport half of queens
That part of the City is like a foreign country.
I think gentrification has many downsides, but in this case I welcome it. Roosevelt Ave is disgusting in every way.
The downside is probably more urban lumberjacks will be wandering around in their tight pants.
Nah theyre to chicken to go to that area
Cops are always being called to a bar on Roosevelt and 65th street. I’ve lived in woodside my whole life and Roosevelt is so seedy looking and incredibly dangerous at night. Good clean it up and do what you have to. Maybe one day it will look as nice as Sunnyside is looking.
Btw, you Trump people should move to the island if you hate immigrants so much. Woodside has always been an immigrant community.
This is not about the honest buisnesses in the area.. its about the 2$ bars really.. so many women, girls and guys etc work in these places with no papers.. i They should take a look at washington heights were every single block has people drinking bottles of liqour like there is bottle service on the sidewalk, smoking weed hookas playing dominos etc music blasting.. and not one cop in area does his job…
The simple thing to do is get immigration to round up all these illegals and send them the hell back where they f….ing belong. There’s way too many of these rats on the streets and in this country.
Me Trump come on down!!!!!
If you think that nothing can be improved on Roosevelt Ave, you have not walked do the street late at night. Lots of drinking, drugs and prostitution including human trafficking. You can walk two block off of the ave and see some pretty decent housing. This would just be trying to enforce common sense laws.
Strange story: It’s in the Sunnyside Post. Shift East. The photo is from 61st Street. Shift East. The proposal is for 74th Street to 116th Street. So we wound up in Corona. The neighborhoods have changed. Do you want it to look like the 1950’s again? If they had $2 dance bars in Mexico City, who is State Senator Jose Peralta to say “No” to this aspect of the vibrant and diverse culture we welcome here?
Roosevelt ave is vibrant???
Roosevelt ave is electric???
I love roosevelt ave ???
Thats political BS!
Is he kidding or is he high on the drugs that are sold along the Avenue?
Roosevelt ave is a ghetto and has been for years.
It dangerous at night.
I hope they do something , but do they realize how many blocks you have to clean up? From 49st to 58st, is bad.
62st to 74st is bad
75st to 111st is horrible.
All this is ,is all talk.
And if they do clean it up,
Where does all the garbage go?
Whos neighborhood gets ruined next?
This crap has to go somewhere.
Too bad they didnt think of it 25 years ago
Couldn’t agree more. Who decides what’s worthy to stay? On the west side of Manhattan , the ” new locals” are trying to close down Rudy’s, which has be a great place for all residents of all backgrounds from the neighborhood. And probably last place for a shot and a beer for $5 in midtown.
This ISNT about cleaning up the vibrant nightlife as much as to make way for higher rent and elimination of middle class, this is BS and I will now make sure to vote State Senator Peralta, State Senator Michael Gianaris, and Assembly Member Mike DenDekker OUT OF OFFICE for agreeing on their self serving purposes!! I apologize I have ZERO FAITH IN POLITICIANS ANYMORE and believe this as another attack on the working class of Queens trying to make a living, I hold zero apologies for any of my statements and am truly DISGUSTED w the rise of the cost of living in NY City and the decimation of the poor and middle class, KEEP THAT CRAP IN LIC AND BROOKLYN!!! Mayor BLOOMBERG started this ridiculous nonsense and way of life by skyrocketing rent in Manhattan and what there should be is rent comptroller from ALL THESE GREEDY LANDLORDS, no that’s NEVER AN ISSUE!!!
Anonymous – New or “better”people are coming it’s just the cycle if life. On my block alone in the last 3 years easily 20 older neighbors have died. These are neighborhoods that housed a lot of WWII era residents. None of us are here forever.
New people have always come. This wave however is not a normal cycle of life. It is called “gentrification” a decidedly man-made phenomenon. Look it up.
Mac won’t look it up. He’s too full of himself and more interested in insulting everybody first. He’s got anger management issues.
what is your problem??? do u have any good thing to say about anything???
It sounds good but I suspect this is only being done now to usher in higher priced places that will cater to higher priced residences the developers plan to build there. They say it is just they bad ones but really it is only the bad ones first. Then they are coming for you and me. Ask yourself why now after a lifetime of decline. It is all part of their plan to push the residents of Western Queens out and get “better” people in.
That’s how the world works. Get packin
This problem will be quickly solved when Donald Trump is elected President.
Donald Trump could give two f##ks about a low income areas. Expect everyone to get more poor and crime to increase.
Wepa!
This would be a great article for the WOODSIDE post.
This seems like a good thing. Why wasn’t JVB at this announcement? He represents part of Woodside.
because there was no money to be made that is why
Good question,he’s probably building another park. I’ve complained to him about this area and certain bars,especially Pasiones,which I provided him with pictures AND video,and he still did nothing. 69 th street between 41 ave and Roosevelt ave is the worst. Two women assaulted,MTA bus driver slashed,woman attacked with a hatchet,transvestite prostitution out of control esp. On the weekend. Pasiones bar needs to be shut down as soon as possible. Jimmy Van Bramer your silence is deafening.
JVB could care less he is aiming to be the next Mayor of New York look out folks –
Or TV cameras
I am in totally agreement with the clean up on Roosevelt. I lived on 84th Street right off of Roosevelt and the crime was horrible back in the 90’s. I finally moved out in 2002 and cant say I wasnt happy about it.
While the real estate there is sky rocketing, once they see how the neighborhood is at night they will just abandon all hope, especially during World Cup Soccer….