'I Can Get It Done for $60 to $80': Manhattan Man Details Cheap Sex Along Roosevelt Avenue

A Manhattan man identified only as John has described paying between $60 (£45.28) and $80 (£60.38) for sex along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, as prostitution-related arrests on the corridor have fallen sharply this year. His account appeared in a report published on 27 September 2026 that also described alleged street solicitation in Jackson Heights and Corona.

Roosevelt Avenue has for years been the focus of complaints about street prostitution, suspected illegal brothels and other quality-of-life concerns. New York repealed Penal Law Section 240.37 in February 2021, eliminating the offence of loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offence. The repeal did not itself legalise prostitution, which remains addressed under separate provisions of state law.

John said lower prices were a major reason he travelled from Manhattan to Queens. 'I can get it done for $60 to $80,' he said, adding that comparable encounters in Manhattan cost substantially more.

He also described arranging encounters as easy and said customers were taken to small upstairs rooms. His claims about prices, services and practices were personal accounts and were not independently verified.

Roosevelt Avenue Arrests Fall as Report Describes Continued Solicitation

During a visit near 90th Street, a reporter said he saw nine women whom the report described as offering paid sexual services. The reporter said two other women appeared to act as hostesses or managers. Another group later approached the journalist and offered paid sexual services, according to the report.

Those observations provide only a snapshot of conditions at the time of the visit. They do not establish the overall number of people selling sex along Roosevelt Avenue or demonstrate the extent of any trafficking activity in the area.

According to NYPD figures cited by the report, police made 193 prostitution-related arrests along Roosevelt Avenue through 13 September, down 59 per cent from 468 during the same period in 2025.

The comparison comes after Operation Restore Roosevelt, a multi-agency initiative launched on 15 October 2024 by then-Mayor Eric Adams, then-Interim NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon and New York City Council member Francisco Moya. The city said the operation targeted prostitution, illegal brothels, sex trafficking, unlicensed vending and other public-safety and quality-of-life concerns.

Jessica Tisch became police commissioner the following month and later oversaw the NYPD as the initiative continued. Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor on 1 January 2026, while Tisch remains police commissioner.

Roosevelt Avenue Debate Focuses on Enforcement and Support

Former New York state senator Hiram Monserrate, a Democratic district leader in Queens, criticised the current level of enforcement and argued that reduced police activity had allowed illegal prostitution and trafficking markets to expand.

'It is becoming apparent that there is less enforcement, and I think that comes from the top,' Monserrate said. He also called the current approach a 'disaster.'

His comments are political criticism and do not establish that City Hall directed police to reduce prostitution enforcement or that trafficking increased because of the administration's policies.

City Hall disputed suggestions that it was ignoring conditions on Roosevelt Avenue. Spokesman Sam Raskin said Mamdani was working with local organisations and residents and using city resources to address the area, while combining enforcement with support for people seeking safer and more stable lives.

The report also said police continue to arrest alleged customers in undercover operations. According to police sources cited in the story, John Maddox and Mario Sanchez were charged with offences described as patronising prostitution and pleaded not guilty.

Police sources said Maddox was arrested on 29 July after allegedly offering an undercover officer money for sex, while Sanchez was arrested on 11 June on a similar allegation. The allegations against both men have not been proved in court, and the report did not cite later dispositions in either case.

John said the visible police presence had not deterred his visits. 'The police are always around, but it seems like there's nothing they can do,' he said.