AOC’s Constituents Complain About Absent ‘Rock Star’ Who’s ‘Done Nothing’
Frustration is reaching a boiling point in New York’s 14th Congressional District as voters grow increasingly disillusioned with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose national celebrity status and progressive crusades appear to have come at the cost of basic constituent services.
Residents of Queens and the Bronx say the self-styled democratic socialist is more focused on scoring headlines and clout on the national stage than addressing the very real problems faced by the people who elected her. According to a report by the New York Post, constituents are fed up with shuttered offices, unanswered phones, and a disappearing congressional presence in their neighborhoods.
Despite receiving $1.9 million in taxpayer funding to run her district offices, locals report that one is open just one weekday, while the other is closed every Friday. Attempting to speak to staff often requires making an appointment, and phone calls routinely go unanswered.
Community town halls—once a staple of Ocasio-Cortez’s image as a grassroots warrior—have become rare and impersonal. Constituents told The Post that when meetings do happen, she may not even bother to show up in person, instead calling in and limiting interaction to a tightly controlled number of questions.
“This woman has done nothing for the community she was once again elected to serve. Now she can’t be a Congresswoman because she’s too busy?” said Lauro Vazquez of Woodside, Queens.
That sentiment echoes across the district, which spans working-class areas like Astoria, Jackson Heights, and the South Bronx. From jobs to crime to transportation issues, residents say their needs are falling by the wayside while AOC chases fame and future ambitions.
The perception became reality last week when Ocasio-Cortez showed up at a town hall in Jackson Heights only to give the audience less than an hour before retreating to a waiting SUV. According to The Post, she took just six questions before abruptly leaving.
The meeting itself had already been rescheduled, after the congresswoman fell ill following her high-profile “Fighting the Oligarchy” national tour with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Critics didn’t hold back.
“Of course, it’s cancelled — too busy jet setting around on private jets screaming about ‘oligarchs’ and setting up her bid for a POTUS run,” Vazquez quipped.
Jackson Heights resident Tatiana Lacatus added sarcastically, “It’s hard to find a private plane – it’s Easter weekend. She is too big for us.”
Even local politicians are joining the chorus. Ramses Frias, a Republican City Council candidate from Elmhurst, compared Ocasio-Cortez to an “absentee landlord,” saying she’s lost touch with the very people she was elected to serve.
“She’s flying around on private jets, talking about the oligarchy, which is not really resonating with the regular guy – the person going shopping over here at the supermarket,” Frias said with biting sarcasm. “She’s a rock star.”
Indeed, Ocasio-Cortez seems to have plenty of time for headline-grabbing political stunts far outside New York. In 2021, she made national waves volunteering briefly at a Houston food bank and helping raise over $5 million for Texans hit by a winter storm. Meanwhile, back home, many say she was nearly invisible during Hurricane Ida and the ongoing struggles of her district during the pandemic.
Most recently, AOC’s response to the Trump administration’s decision to cancel $200 million in climate resiliency grants—funds that would’ve supported critical anti-flooding infrastructure in her own district—was widely seen as tepid at best. The “cloudburst” projects, aimed at protecting neighborhoods like Queens from stormwater disasters, seemed to get little more than passing commentary from the congresswoman.
Instead, Ocasio-Cortez spent time publicly supporting Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, an anti-Israel activist arrested for his involvement in protests. Khalil, notably, is not one of her constituents.
“She will help if it gets her name on national issues,” said Jackson Heights resident Gloria Contreras. “She’s about her and getting worldwide attention while ignoring her constituents.”
As discontent mounts across her district, the question becomes clear: will Ocasio-Cortez be held accountable for leaving behind the very people she promised to fight for—or will she continue to trade in local trust for global applause?