Gonzalez was picked up at the intersection of East 41st Street and Lexington Avenue following a tip to CrimeStoppers.
Detectives are now conducting lineups.
Investigators say the attack happened around 8 a.m. Sunday in a back room of the Laundromat, located in the Bedford Park section.
Police say Gonzalez walked in and forced the 27-year-old victim into the rear room, where he raped her.
Juan Martes says he and another man ran into the store after a woman told them she heard the victim's cries for help.
They found her locked in a bathroom, hysterically crying.
The victim was treated at the hospital.
Gonzalez is reportedly a level 3 sex offender with a long criminal history dating back to 1990, when he followed an 18-year-old woman into an elevator and attempted to rape her, but was deterred by her screams. He was caught while fleeing the scene.
He has served at least 13 years behind bars for rape and aggravated harassment.
In this latest case, he was identified from surveillance video obtained from a business on Webster Avenue, near the Laundromat.
"He said he lived in Queens, and he said he came to do some laundry," deli owner Frankie Marte said. "He bought a sandwich. It's the second time I've seen him."
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