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AOC Slammed for Seeking Fame, Ignoring Local Problems

By Brian Freeman | Wednesday, 06 August 2025 12:15 PM EDT

Some residents in the congressional district of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have harshly criticized the progressive Democrat for ignoring quality of life issues in the area she represents while chasing national attention, the New York Post reported on Wednesday.

Rosa Sanchez, head of the Restore Roosevelt Avenue Coalition, said that "we need our congresswoman's help to stop crime, drugs, gangs, sex trafficking. I would love for her to address these issues."

Shop owners and residents along that corridor in Queens — nicknamed "The Market of Sweethearts" — say that AOC ignores problems in her district, instead sending a newsletter reminding locals they could list "X" as their gender on passports.

Her Corona neighborhood is "open and diverse" and backs LGBT residents, Sanchez said — but Ocasio-Cortez 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 her constituents how to update their "Passport's Gender Marker" if they don't identify as male or female, the New York Post reported.

She did this after President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring that Americans must list their biological sex at birth on government documents, but a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the order pending a final ruling.

New York 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 New York Post has highlighted the lawlessness along Roosevelt in several articles over the past year, with locals and store owners there pleading for help as the area has been plagued by rampant prostitution and illegal street vendors — brought about in part by gangs that established a foothold in the area due to the city's migrant crisis.

Although AOC didn't mention Roosevelt Avenue in the newsletter, the congresswoman did discuss some important local issues, the New York Post pointed out.

For example, she noted that she and fellow Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., hosted a press conference celebrating Vaughn College's admission into the Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative, a Federal Aviation Administration program which will help address the demand for more air traffic controllers in the New York City area.

In addition, her office aided a constituent seeking Social Security disability insurance obtain $35,131 in back pay, the newsletter said.

Last month, AOC defended her efforts to improve the quality of life along Roosevelt Avenue, particularly citing a meeting she attended with constituents about the proliferation of vendors in and around Corona Plaza.