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Join Telegram ChannelA Democratic official who helped Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez build support ahead of her historic first election victory told Fox News Digital that the lawmaker abandoned and “betrayed” her constituents in a Queens district that has been riddled with crime under his leadership, including air prostitution, theft and petty crime.
Some voters compared conditions along Roosevelt Avenue to those in a third world country, while others say migrant women soliciting sex in front of businesses remind them of a Bangkok red light district.
The area has drawn national attention for its unsanitary nature, where illegal vendors crowd the sidewalks selling unregulated food, second-hand clothing and other counterfeit goods.
Ramon Ramirez Baez, an author and former Democratic committeeman in the 39th Assembly District, said the quality of life there has rapidly deteriorated since Ocasio-Cortez caused a historic upset in 2018, unseating Democratic congressman longtime Joe Crowley to become the country's youngest MP.
DEMOCRATIC POL HUNT IN AOC’S “RED LIGHT” DISTRICT AFTER SUPPORTING POLICE Crackdown ON OUTDOOR PROSTITUTION
Ramon Ramirez Baez, former Democratic committeeman for the 39th Assembly District, pictured with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, left; clothes and merchandise on a sidewalk in Ocasio-Cortez's neighborhood, top right; a sex worker in Ocasio-Cortez's neighborhood, bottom right. (Ramirez Baez, left, Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital, right.)
He said the then-unknown political novice was a new face on the scene who promised to work hard for the people of Corona, Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, and be a presence for them on the ground, unlike career politician Crowley , who at that point he was a 10-term incumbent and was considering becoming the next Speaker of the House.
Ocasio-Cortez, Ramirez Baez said, asked her for help when she had about $39,000 in the bank, compared to Crowley's nearly $2 million.
Ramirez Baez, who is well-connected in the area, particularly among fellow Dominican immigrants, introduced Ocasio-Cortez to many business owners, campaigned with her and even shelled out money to pay for a venue where they can both debate. said. The move proved crucial in swaying the local electorate because Crowley never ran, and Ramirez Baez said it gave momentum to Ocasio-Cortez.
“I paid for this debate, I have a bill for everything I did for Ms. Alexandria,” a frustrated Ramirez Baez said, waving a document at the camera. He said all of his campaign expenses were documented in one of several books he wrote about her.
But since Ocasio-Cortez rose to power, Ramirez Baez has said she has been missing in action and has acted no differently than Crowley.
“We never saw this lady, ever, she disappeared,” he told Fox News Digital. “She [didn’t] do anything for the community, nothing, nothing.”
“She disappeared from my community. You never saw Alexandria in my community, no one saw her in her office. Closed all the time,” he said of his Queens office, located a block from his own apartment.
Rivera said residents don't know how to contact her office because she doesn't appear to have one in Queens. Ocasio-Cortez's website lists an office in Queens, by appointment only, which is the same address as New York City Councilwoman Tiffany Caban's office.
“What happened? You must be [in the] community to hold an event. She has never participated in any event. I've never seen Alexandria come and do a town hall meeting, listen to the community, nothing. She disappeared.”
“She goes everywhere, like a movie star, she goes to Texas, everywhere, but what about the community?”
Rivera said Ocasio-Cortez held a town hall in the neighborhood in May 2023, but since then crime, particularly prostitution, has skyrocketed and she has not engaged with the community on these issues. He said the rally was extremely limited and residents had to apply to attend, with his office refusing entry to those he considered hostile to his positions, even other local Democrats who said Fox News Digital that they too were refused entry.
Ocasio-Cortez spoke at a rally in support of illegal sellers a few months later and quickly left before questions could be asked, he said.
WATCH: NYC street lined with prostitutes soliciting sex
Ramirez Baez, who said he was unaware of Ocasio-Cortez's socialist leanings at the time, said he felt buyer's remorse for pushing his community to support her.
“If she told me she was a socialist, I would never support it,” » said Ramírez Baez. He said part of his socialist agenda was an open-border immigration policy, which he said had contributed to the neighborhood's decline because many illegal vendors and sex workers on Roosevelt Avenue are migrants without jobs or work permits and also burden resources.
“She only advocates the socialist agenda, which is not for the American people. . . . She doesn't understand what [socialism] that means,” said Ramírez Baez, who added that he understands it because he lived in Cuba and the former Soviet Union. “She was a little confused in her head, confused in this ideology.
“The Democrats opened the border and a lot of people that no one knows came. Alexandria was in Texas [saying] 'Come on, people in New York have money,' and that's why right now you have this situation in our neighborhood.”
Ramon Ramirez Baez and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during a 2018 debate. (Provided by Ramon Ramírez Baez)
STATE TROOPERS, NYPD DESCEND ON AOC'S 'RED LIGHT' NEIGHBORHOOD TO COUPLE UP RAMPANT PROSTITUTION AND CRIME
He told Fox News Digital that he voted for President-elect Trump this year and asked people in his district to do the same, even though he remains a lifelong Democrat.
“The American country is for the law, it’s for the working people.”
Commenting on how she dethroned Crowley, Ramirez Baez said Ocasio-Cortez embraced social media to connect with young people.
Ramirez Baez said Ocasio-Cortez hugged him and cried when she won, saying she would never forget him because he was like a brother to her. He said he responded by saying, “Ms. Alexandria, don't worry, all I need from you is to do your best for my community.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez's office for comment regarding Ramirez Baez, but did not receive a response.
Ramirez Baez worked to clean up Roosevelt Avenue and founded a group called “Let's Improve Roosevelt Ave,” which advocates for more police on the ground. That request finally came to fruition last month when the mayor and governor deployed more than 200 police and state troopers to patrol the troubled neighborhood.
He said that on several occasions he had called on Ocasio-Cortez — along with other local progressives — to rally behind him and other activists, but that she had ignored his calls.
Several blocks of Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's neighborhood in Queens are known to be lined with scantily clad migrant prostitutes offering their illegal services 24 hours a day. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
Ramirez Baez even wrote a damning open letter to Ocasio-Cortez last month and said he had yet to receive a response from her.
“I remember you questioning the integrity of other politicians and their promises. My support and collaboration helped secure your victory. I thought you would represent the best interests of our community, I was wrong ” Ramirez Baez wrote in the October 23 letter. .
“As I've watched your career unfold, I've seen you more focused on staying in the spotlight and attracting media attention than on the real issues facing your constituents. While you travel across the country and perform at various shows, our community continues to fight. Your appearance in high fashion clothing stands in stark contrast to the hardships our hardworking workers endure.
In the letter, Ramirez Baez said he felt compelled to apologize to the community for supporting it in 2018.
Read Ramon Ramirez Baez's letter to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Application users CLICK HERE
“Roosevelt Avenue…has become a hub of brothels outnumbering bodegas. It's an urban crime zone. Yet you advocate for the legalization of prostitution and anti-police policies. You ignore the fact that over 70 brothels operate near local schools and places of worship You haven't even talked about the crime affecting our neighborhood and you have failed to protect vulnerable women exploited by these criminal networks.
For a block along Roosevelt Avenue, Fox News digital cameras recorded a line of as many as 19 suspected sex workers on a sidewalk in September. Around the corner, there were at least seven more, and a woman on the next block was seen soliciting sex for $60. Some brothels have reopened even after being raided by the police.
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“Your version of socialism has been a farce. You have never delivered results for your community. While you campaign for others across the country, you fail to see the serious damage your misguided positions have caused to our community and your political party”, Ramirez Baez. continued.
“Have you looked at the polls on the number of Latinos who are leaving the Democratic Party because of the radical policies you embrace?” » asked Ramírez Baez. “Take a look at Roosevelt Avenue, breathe our air, and see your failures.”