This is not the biology lesson parents want for their kids.
Some angry Queens residents are calling on the city to padlock a suspected brothel brazenly operating across the street from the family-friendly New York Hall of Science museum.
The spot — operating from a family home on 111th Street in Corona – even advertised on TikTok a year ago and is blocks away from a notorious drag known as the “Market of Sweethearts” where prostitutes prowl and illegal vendors sell merchandise on the street.
“Sometimes the customers are urinating and threatening some of the local residents,” said Carlos Zapata, a 63-year-old resident who lives blocks away.
“That’s why a lot of residents didn’t come today because they fear reprisals,” he added at a news conference calling attention to the alleged sleaze.
“They even leave their condoms here on the street. I have grandchildren. What happens when my grandchildren come out to play? I need to pick it up every day, the plastic liquor bottles and the tequila bottles.”
The NYPD and state police are cracking down on the lawlessness at the nearby “Market of Sweethearts” along Roosevelt Avenue after a push by locals and reports in The Post — but this brothel a bit off the beaten path is flourishing and neighbors are fed up.
“We have no place for this type of foolishness. Enough is enough,” said Corona native Jonathan Carson.
“I see men of all races and types all day and night going in and out … There’s no other building having people coming in and out like that.”
Carson said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz should “stop seeing sex workers as victims and prosecute them as criminals” and added that sex trafficking is a federal crime.
The brothel is just blocks from PS 28 and PS 14, said Maria Giraldo, 48, who lives around the corner from the brothel.
“Please shut this place down,” Giraldo said.
“There are kids and mothers walking through here to drop off their kids and the kids see people coming in and out of this house …This is insane.”
Hiram Monserrate, a Democratic district leader and former city councilman and state senator, said authorities have not been able to get their arms around the sex trade problem despite beefed up enforcement.
“Everyone has failed us. Every single elected official — the NYPD, the state, the governor, everyone has failed us,” Monserrate told reporters.
“We’re here demanding you to no longer fail us. Come to the aid of this community. We need it.”
He estimated at least 10 women have operated out of the brothel for at least a year, with Johns showing up in bigger numbers between 10 p.m. and 2 p.m.
“Though we appreciate the additional police resources, clearly, we’re here with the message for both the state and city police to step on the gas pedal,” Monserrate said.
“When we started two months ago, three months ago, we stated that we were living in an urban crime zone with unprecedented lawlessness, so much that even now with an additional 200 police officers in our community we are still confronting this crime.”
He questioned why so few padlock orders have been issued to close brothels under the city’s Nuisance Abatement, which covers violations of the building code that includes prostitution.
“Just enforce the law and that will go a long way. We’re here with the clear and simple message: shut it down,” Monserrate said.
NYPD Assistant Commissioner Carlos Nieves said the department was in the middle of a 90-day operation in the area along Roosevelt “addressing a host of concerns.
“When the NYPD began this 90-day enforcement operation based on community complaints along a stretch of Roosevelt Ave, some individuals criticized the NYPD’s actions, calling them harmful when it comes to certain groups and demonstrated to that effect,” Nieves said.
“We are also aware of community concerns and are addressing those concerns with a balanced approach. If area residents have further information for the NYPD, we will gladly accept it anonymously, either at the local area precincts or via our Crimestoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.”
Mayor Eric Adams’ office and Queens DA Katz’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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