As they spoke, illegal vendors set up shop across the street to peddle stolen goods while dozens of sex workers roamed the sidewalks - in plain sight of city kids returning to local schools.
"I try to serve the community," Victory Pharmacy owner Mireya Gutierrez told reporters. "That's our goal all the time, but we have been stopped by all these immigrants. I'm not against them; I was an immigrant myself."
Locals and merchants said the number of hookers along Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst has doubled in the past two months alone, while shoplifters have become more brazen.
Community activist Ramses Frias stated, "The residents are frustrated. Everyone is tired of what's happening here, and we're coming together with business owners to let you see that this has to end immediately."
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