Corona started with some limited development in the late 19th century with the New York and Flushing Railroad. Development come slow to the area and didn’t really pick up until the construction of the elevated L line in 1917. The subway wasn’t extended to 111 St until 1925. Mostly of Corona’s housing was built in the 1920s & 1930s. After World War II, the majority of Corona’s residents were mostly Italian and some other European ethnicities. Large numbers of middle-class African American families, especially musicians, civil rights leaders and athletes moved to the neighborhood north of Roosevelt including Louis Armstrong. By the 1990s Corona saw a massive increase in Latino Immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and the DR. Given Corona’s close proximity to Flushing there is also a large Chinese population spilling over.
From an urban perspective Corona is not the flashiest of urban districts but it does have density on the same level as many Manhattan neighborhood’s and solid retail and cultural amenities (concentrated along Roosevelt & 103th St, Junction Blvd, 108th & Corona St., and Northern Blvd), good schools, and great park amenities thanks to its close proximity to Corona Park. The neighborhood is also very well served by public transit including a subway line and is only a 30-35 subway ride to Midtown. But Corona is not always pretty with a fair amount of autocentric and industrial uses along Northern Blvd and Roosevelt Blvd below the elevated line. The tree canopy is also limited and there are not sufficient bike lanes.
Click here to view my Corona Album on Flickr
URBAN STREGNTHS:
* Very high density at around 85K per square mile.
* Good sidewalk infrastructure but ADA standard curb cuts are hit or miss including only half of all intersections.
* Good access to Midtown and Long Island City, only 30-35 mins by metro. Lower Manhattan is more like 50 mins and Dwtn Brooklyn is 1 hr. away.
* Generally good street grid and connectivity but a several curvilinear streets that disrupt the grid and a couple highways along the district’s borders.
* Great access to public transit.
* Great array of dedicated bike stations but bike lane coverage is so so here.
* Solid walk public schools generally well spread out through the neighborhood. Not a ton of private and charter school options.
* On appearance Corona feels pretty dirty and crowded but its really not a dangerous neighborhood. Most residents of hard working Hispanics and gang activity isn’t too bad.
* The expansive and multi-faceted Corona Park sits on the eastern edge of the Corona. Also many smaller parks well distributed throughout the neighborhood and a City Pool.
* Decent rental options but I imagine much of it is not listed. 1-beds range 2K, 2 lease btwn 2.5-3K and 3-beds in the 3Ks.
* Decent # of smaller condos. Studio and 1-bed condos sell btwn 150K-400K, 2-beds sell btwn 250K-950K., 3 & 4 beds btwn 400K-1.5M. 5-beds are only a bit more expensive. Lots of affordable and subsidized affordable units.
* Good cultural amenities including plenty of restaurants (although mostly Hispanic), plenty of bars & cafes, a couple art galleries and night clubs, and several cultural amenities in Corona Park including the Queen’s Zoo, Science Museum, and the Queens Museums. Also the Louis Armstrong museum and Center are here as he lived in Corona later in life.
* Good retail amenities lots of small & medium grocery stores, and tons of Hispanic & Asian grocerias, the Queens Center shopping mall is just west of the neighborhood containing lots of stores and Department Store, several drug stores, several hardware stores, several clothing stores boutiques mostly concentrated along Junction Blvd, tons of discount stores, several gift stores and tones of home goods and furniture stores, plenty of dessert joints and bakeries, lots of bike stores, several gyms, a couple public libraries and post offices, tons of churches, no major hospital in Corona but plenty of doctor’s offices and medical clinics.
* Very mixed-use fabric throughout the neighborhood even outside of the major commercial district along Roosevelt & 103th st, Junction Blvd, 108th & Corona St., and Northern Blvd.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Thanks to its very large Hispanic population (2/3s of the total population) this is not one of Queen’s most diverse communities, but there is also a pretty large Hispanic and Black populations here.
* Pre WWII architecture is pretty plain and not a ton of modern in-fill and what does exist is concentrated along North Ave, which is a mix of good urban infill and autocentric uses. A fair amount of industrial uses along Roosevelt Ave.
* Tree canopy is pretty limited.
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 