'It's gangland': AOC's district is an open-air market for guns, prostitution, and illegal vendors

All eyes are on the New York district represented by Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after a group of violent, illegal alien gang members were arrested by federal authorities.

Eight members of the18th Street gang — a transnational gang started by Mexicans — were pulled off of Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, New York, an area in AOC's district that is now rife with gang activity and illegal migrants.

The suspects, seven of whom are illegal immigrants, are accused of unleashing terror in Queens through "assaults, extortion," drug trafficking, and more, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz told Fox News.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, according to locals, who say these gang members are part of a complex network of criminals who have been burrowing into the city for years.

'Roosevelt Avenue is like a completely different world — fake passports, guns, prostitution, all out in the open.'

A sense of safety is now considered a luxury in Queens, as constant outbreaks of violence and theft have permeated the streets. In a game of "pick your perennial poison" on Roosevelt Avenue, New Yorkers get to experience the third world through a bevy of prostitutes, illegal street vendors, and hotels packed to the brim with illegal immigrants paid for by their own tax dollars.

As they rubberneck their way down their own streets, citizens also need to keep a firm grip on their electronics as cellphone-snatching illegal aliens whisk by on scooters.

"At their peak, migrant gangs in Midtown Manhattan were pulling off 10 to 15 robberies a day," said investigative reporter and New Yorker Oren Levy.

"The phone-snatching scooter crews alone hit 30 to 40 victims daily, swooping in like vultures to snatch phones and vanish before anyone could blink," Levy reported.

Not only are taxpayers footing the bill for the migrant hotels, but the hotels themselves have become operation centers for gang members to gather and coordinate their activities.

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Highly organized gangs with specialized crews rob anyone from kids to seniors as they pickpocket, shoplift, and run guns all around Gotham City. These crimes involve GPS trackers, Wi-Fi jamming devices, and encrypted phones to stay under the radar as they conduct home invasions and robberies.

This, all under Ocasio-Cortez's watch, has residents describing the area as the "third world."

"Roosevelt Avenue is like a completely different world — fake passports, guns, prostitution, all out in the open," reporter Levy told Blaze News.

"As someone who actually knows the location, I'll tell you the truth: It's gangland. The city shows up, cleans it up for a moment, and then it all goes right back to the same mess. Nothing ever really changes in gangland," Levy reinforced.

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In addition to the crime, the "third-world" feeling on Roosevelt is hammered home by the endless columns of illegal street vendors.

"I understand people want to make a living the right way without hurting anyone, but when you walk down Roosevelt Avenue, vendors line the blocks from one end to the other," Levy explained. "Some of them are completely unsanitary, and at times it looks and feels like a third-world country."

Even the most sophisticated photography is unable to hide the countless vendors who make the streets even tighter and more unsafe for residents.

But public safety is indeed the top priority, according to Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.). Meng told Fox News that "dangerous criminals who commit violent crimes must be held accountable."

There are indeed plenty of those criminals to choose from, according to Levy.

"I've been on the ground there, breaking story after story," he said, pointing to brothels being run out of bodegas and random street stabbings.

A person was even reportedly stabbed for not giving a person a cigarette. "That's the state of Roosevelt," the reporter sadly admitted.

Representatives for Ocasio-Cortez did not reply to Blaze News' request for comment.

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