Welcome to Corona
Junction Boulevard and 37th Avenue
Junction Boulevard and 37th Avenue
Corona is one of my favorite New York neighborhoods. It’s imperfect grid layout and bustling commercial streets make it one of the most enjoyable places to walk around. Corona was first developed in the 1920s when the elevated 7 train was built to connect Flushing and Midtown Manhattan. For half a century, the residents of Corona were mostly working class Italian immigrants and their children. By the 1970s the neighborhood changed into a diverse latino community, with immigrants arriving from Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and more recently El Salvador. There is still a small Italian section near the intersection of 108th Street and Corona Avenue, but Corona is mainly seen as a center of latino immigrant life.
The following set of photos are of Junction Boulevard, one of the three main commercial strips of Corona, although the neighborhood probably has at least a dozen busy shopping areas, any one of which the average New York neighborhood would be lucky to have. The other two high-activity areas are 103rd Street and the area around Corona Plaza.
Junction Boulevard and 38th Avenue
The street market seen in the below few pictures stretch for blocks along Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue.
Junction Boulevard and Warren Street
Roosevelt Avenue and Warren Street
97th Street 37th Avenue
Corona Ice, one of the only small-scale ice manufacturers in New York, makes its home on 98th Street and 37th Avenue.
37th Avenue between 100th and 101st Streets
37th Avenue between 100th and 101st Streets
103rd Street and 37th Avenue
Street vendors play a crucial role in the street life of Corona. They are a source of employment and income for hundreds, if not thousands, of immigrants whose immigration status might disallow them from getting a job in the formal economy. At the same time, street vendors contribute enormously to the vitality of would-be boring or empty streets by adding people and a reason to be there.
103rd Street between 37th and 39th Avenues
103rd Street between 37th and 39th Avenues
103rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue
Corona Plaza
Corona Plaza
Corona Plaza
The Intersection of 41st Avenue, 103rd Street and National Street
National Street and 41st Avenue
National Street and 41st Avenue
104th Street and 41st Avenue
98th Street and 37th Avenue
The following few pictures were taken along Northern Boulevard, which is roughly the northern border of the neighborhood.
96th Street and Northern Boulevard
Northern Boulevard between 96th and 97th Street
98th Street and Northern Boulevard
Northern Boulevard between 97th and 98th Streets
98th Street and Northern Boulevard
98th Street and Northern Boulevard
99th Street and Northern Boulevard
100th Street and Northern Boulevard
100th Street and Northern Boulevard
100th Street and Northern Boulevard
101st Street and Northern Boulevard