Residents of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional district slammed the lefty pol for ignoring a crime-plagued strip while sending a newsletter reminding locals they could list “X” as their gender on passports.
Shop owners and residents along the Roosevelt Avenue corridor in Queens — nicknamed “The Market of Sweethearts” — have criticized the liberal darling for ignoring quality of life issues in the area she represents while chasing national attention.
“We are more focused on the bigger issues,” said Rosa Sanchez, head of the Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition.
“We need our congresswoman’s help to stop crime, drugs, gangs, sex trafficking. I would love for her to address these issues.”
Her Corona neighborhood is “open and diverse” and supports LGBT residents, Sanchez said — but AOC has to take more interest in the issues in her own district.
“Public safety is the big issue along Roosevelt Avenue. We need her help.”
AOC’s July newsletter advised Queens and Bronx constituents how to update their “Passport’s Gender Marker” if they don’t identify as male or female.
President Trump has issued an executive order saying Americans must list their biological sex of birth on government documents.
But a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the order, pending a final ruling
“Due to a U.S. District Court’s decision last month, the State Department is honoring requests to update the gender marker on passport applications for the time being. To request this update, the State Department requires an attestation form along with your passport application,” AOC said.
She then provides links to the State Department website.
“If you are a class member, you are eligible to receive a passport with your sex marker of choice (M, F, or X),” the State Department said.
State Conservative Party leader Gerard Kassar said AOC “wants to be a national figure, not a local congressperson” and the focus on transgenderism is an “example of ultra-liberalism.”
The Post has highlighted the sleaze and lawlessness along Roosevelt in a series of stories over the past year.
Locals and store owners there have begged for help as the area has been plagued by rampant prostitution and illegal street vendors — fueled in part by gangs who got a foothold in the area due to the city’s migrant crisis.
Despite efforts of the NYPD and the city to clean up the troubled corridor, illegal vendors still have a foothold — sometimes peddling items stolen from local stores, locals said.
In June, the feds charged a gang of illegal migrants with extorting brothels, beating up rivals and selling drugs and phony IDs along Roosevelt Avenue to finance an illicit network based in El Salvador.
Though she didn’t mention Roosevelt Avenue in the newsletter, AOC did plug some important local issues.
Under the “In Our Community” section of the newsletter, AOC noted that she and Rep. Tom Suozzi had hosted a press conference celebrating Vaughn College’s admission into the Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) program.
The program will help address the demand for more air traffic controllers in the New York City area, one of the most important air traffic hubs in the world.
Her office also helped a constituent seeking Social Security Disability Insurance obtain $35,131 in backpay, the newsletter said.
A spokesperson for AOC didn’t address the criticisms over Roosevelt Avenue, but instead questioned if The Post would report on the distinction for Vaughn.
“I’m glad you caught the newsletter and saw the Congresswoman’s announcement about helping Vaughn get admitted into an FAA program that will pump out more air traffic controllers and make flying safer for all Americans,” the spokesperson said.
Last month, AOC defended her advocacy to improve the quality of life along Roosevelt Avenue in Corona-East Elmhurst, particularly citing a meeting the congresswoman attended with constituents about the proliferation of vendors in and around Corona Plaza.
