Officials at the 102nd Precinct said they have been concentrating on the "lover’s lane" trying to rid the park of the men and put a stop to their activities.

But once again, the greatest enforcement tool available to police has nothing to do with prostitution or sex acts committed by the transvestites, authorities said.

The park officially closes at 10 p.m., police said. Anyone caught inside the park after that time is issued a summons answerable in Criminal Court for trespassing, and the offender(s) are escorted from the park.

Police said "sector" cops and officials re-enter the park several times each night, making sure the offenders have not returned – and summonsing others caught after 10 p.m.

"These are regular patrols, carried out night after night," officials said. "It’s not like we summons and chose those people, then leave the area."

Officials also said they have not witnessed sex acts involving young boys or teens and the transvestites.

"It’s an ongoing enforcement condition," officials said. "We are on constant patrol in the area."

A team of Queens Vice cops proved in September that you can’t buy Queens cops. Two Corona brothel managers allegedly tried to use some of their profit towards protecting their flow of business and sending the cops in the competition’s direction.

Detective Jason Houlihan was no stranger to suspect Gabriel Trujillo when the two men met outside a brothel on 44th Avenue last October. Houlihan, who had arrested the brothel lookout at least once prior to their October meeting, was part of a team of Vice cops who had just raided two brothels nearby. Trujillo expressed his appreciation for the cops "overlooking" the 44th Avenue house. So thankful was Trujillo that he spoke with the brothel manager who agreed to pay the cops to keep the house "safe" from enforcement.

Houllihan got approval from his bosses, and began a nine-month probe into two brothels (sister operations) that led to 55 bribes totaling $102,000. The terms were simple. The cops would ignore the 44th Avenue brothel and another on Roosevelt Avenue, and concentrate instead on shutting down four nearby "competitors."

The Vice cops busted the brothels, where they arrested six people and uncovered what police and the Queens District Attorney’s office described as a $2 million-a-year business. The charges included bribery, enterprise corruption and promoting prostitution.

Then District Attorney Richard Brown filed a civil lawsuit seeking forfeiture of the nearly $2 million in proceeds from the houses.

In Jackson Heights, Corona and Elmhurst, the problem is illegal conversions turned in to brothels, Communiello explained. Multi-family homes and commercial use space with illegal apartments or converted basements have become home to tenants that run lucrative prostitution businesses.

Police officials in northern Queens have established a revised course of action to clean out brothels located along Roosevelt Avenue. The highly-effective Roosevelt Avenue Task Force (RATF) has been refocused to concentrate efforts on identifying brothels and arresting patrons and prostitutes.

Police will also engage in active enforcement of illegal acts committed by transvestites who frequent 37th Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue between 70th and 75th Streets in Jackson Heights.

Residents and merchants along the strip have voiced numerous complaints to police about the influx of the cross-dressers into the area. "We have little patience for this type of behavior," said one merchant who sells material for custom-made saris.

"We want them out of here."

Communiello stressed that the best first line of defense against prostitution impacting on a neighborhood is the residents of the neighborhood itself. He urged local residents who have a problem to call the police department’s Queens Vice Squad, report what they have witnessed and leave their names. Complaints with names attached get priority in investigation and Communiello said that his office, as well as the police, work hard to structure investigations that will not require a neighborhood resident’s testimony. But it is possible that a neighborhood complainant could be called to testify, he added.

Queens Vice in turn recommended that local residents call the Department’s Organized Crime Control Bureau (OCCB) Field Operation Desk at 212-374-6620. Police said the desk is a warehouse for prostitution complaints, and from there the complaint is farmed out to the appropriate squad.

Communiello stressed, "People need to know that their voice does count, that their neighborhood does count" and they need to get involved in its quality of life. However, he added, there is no way to stop what has been dubbed the "world’s oldest profession." This business will move to the neighborhood site of least resistance and continue in Queens as long as there is the chance to profit.