Corona, Queens

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Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement

Corona is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east, Jackson Heights and Elmhurst to the west, Forest Hills and Rego Park to the south, and East Elmhurst to the north. Corona's main thoroughfares include Corona Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue, Northern Boulevard, Junction Boulevard, and 108th Street.

Corona has a multicultural population with a Latino majority, and is the site of historic African-American and Italian-American communities. After World War II, the majority of the neighborhood's residents were mostly Italian, German, Irish and of other European ancestries. Corona also has a significant Chinese population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Corona is mostly part of Queens Community District 4.<ref name="NYCPlanning4"/> The section north of Roosevelt Avenue, known as North Corona, is the northern section of Corona and is in Community District 3.<ref name="NYCPlanning3"/> Corona is patrolled by the 110th and 115th Precincts of the New York City Police Department.<ref name="NYPD 110th Precinct"/>

History

The area was originally known as West Flushing, but various theories have arisen for its etymology. One theory is that it was renamed by music producer Benjamin W. Hitchcock, a developer who renamed the area in 1872 and sold off land for residential development.<ref name=newsday20080224/> Another theory is that real estate developer Thomas Waite Howard, who became the first postmaster in 1872,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> petitioned to have the post office name changed to Corona in 1870, suggesting that it was the "crown of Queens County".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A third theory is that the name Corona derives from the crown used as an emblem by the Crown Building Company, which is said to have developed the area. The Italian immigrants who moved into the new housing stock referred to the neighborhood by the Italian or Spanish word for "crown", or corona.

Corona was a late-19th-century residential development in the northeastern corner of the old Town of Newtown. Real estate speculators from New York started the community in 1854, the same year that the New York and Flushing Railroad began service to the area largely to serve a newly opened race course. It was at the Fashion Course in 1858 that the first games of baseball to charge admission took place.<ref name=newsday20080224>Template:Cite news</ref> The games, which took place between the All Stars of Brooklyn and the All Stars of New York, are commonly believed to be the first all-star baseball games and in essence the birthplace of professional baseball. A trophy baseball from this tournament sold in 2005 for nearly $500,000.<ref>Template:Cite web Accessed August 5, 2013</ref><ref>The 1858 Fashion Race Course Baseball Match Template:Webarchive Baseball Almanac. Accessed August 5, 2013.</ref>

During the second half of the 1940s through the 1960s, many legendary African-American musicians, civil rights leaders and athletes moved to the neighborhood.<ref name=newsday20080224/> In the last half of the 20th century, Corona saw dramatic ethnic successions. In the 1950s, what was predominantly an Italian-American and African-American neighborhood began to give way to an influx of Dominicans. In the late 1990s, Corona saw a new wave of immigrants from Latin America. The area north of Roosevelt Avenue contained the heart of the historic African-American community. The intersection of 108th Street and Corona Avenue is the historic center of the Italian-American community, sometimes referred to as Corona Heights. The majority Hispanic community now consists of Dominicans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Bolivians, Peruvians, Mexicans, Venezuelans, and Chileans. There are also Asian Americans (Chinese, Indians, Koreans, Filipinos, and Japanese) as well as Italian Americans and African Americans.Template:Citation needed

Structures

Brazilian Adventist Church

Dorie Miller Residential Cooperative, built in 1952, comprises six buildings, containing 300 apartments, with 1,300 rooms in total. The cooperative is named after Doris "Dorie" Miller, a U.S. Naval hero at Pearl Harbor and the first African-American recipient of the Navy Cross.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Among its original residents were jazz greats Nat Adderley & Jimmy Heath; Kenneth and Corien Drew, publishers of Queens' first African-American newspaper, The Corona East Elmhurst News, Thelma E. Harris founder of Aburi Press and prominent Queens Judge Henry A. Slaughter. Corona was also the childhood home of Marie Maynard Daly, the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry.

The Louis Armstrong House attracts visitors to the neighborhood and preserves the legacy of musician Louis Armstrong, one of Corona's most prominent historical residents.<ref name="newsday20080224"/> It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.<ref name="nris">Template:NRISref</ref>

Lemon Ice King in Corona

The Lemon Ice King of Corona, an ices shop, is located at 52nd Avenue, Corona Avenue, and 108th Street. Founded in 1944 by Peter Benfaremo, it is a neighborhood point of interest.<ref name="McLogan 2018">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The shop attracts international tourists due to having been featured in the opening credits of the TV show The King of Queens.<ref name=":0"/>

Corona used to have three kettle ponds. One of them, Linden Pond, was located a block south of 103rd Street–Corona Plaza station and was the centerpiece of Park of the Americas, located near the original center of Corona.<ref name="Kadinsky2016">Template:Cite Hidden Waters NYC</ref>Template:Rp The pond had become a public health hazard by the early 20th century,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was renovated in 1912;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> it was removed altogether when the park was renovated in 1947.<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The second was Shady Lake, located at what is now the intersection of 53rd Avenue, Corona Avenue, and 108th Street. The pond, originally used to harvest ice, was drained in the 20th century;<ref name="Kadinsky2016"/>Template:Rp the Lemon Ice King of Corona and William F. Moore Park are now located near the site.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A third, Backus Lake at 98th Street and 31st Avenue, was also considered a nuisance by the 1900s,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was drained in 1917.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Corona Plaza

Corona Plaza, located at Roosevelt Avenue and National Street, was previously an underutilized lot and truck route that was transformed over the course of several years into a pedestrian plaza for community programming and inclusive living. In the latter half of the 20th century, the area that is now Corona Plaza was a lot that connected the street to a row of mainly immigrant-owned businesses. The neighborhood of Corona had an overflow of immigrants who struggled to find employment which exacerbated illegal trading, much of which would occur through the use of trucks that could park in this unofficial lot. By the early 21st century, Corona Plaza was gradually given more attention and became a community space for the ethnically diverse population of Corona.<ref name="ScienceDirect">Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 2005, the nearby Queens Museum began applying for permits to temporarily close off the streets that allowed vehicle access to the plaza and hosted public events (typically art based) that the residents of the community could attend.<ref name="queensmuseum">Template:Cite web</ref> Seeing the lot's future potential, the Queens Museum partnered with the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) to develop plans to reuse the space.<ref name="ScienceDirect"/> The partners saw this as an opportunity for grassroots, art-led engagement that would unite residents. The two groups' individual intentions both contributed to the creation of the permanent plaza: the QEDC supports developing local businesses while the Queens Museum creates a stronger presence in the neighborhood for its arts programs,<ref name="ScienceDirect"/>

The space was first transformed in 2012 as a temporary plaza with chairs and tables that prohibited through traffic. It was later made permanent by the Department of Design and Construction, which filled in the lot with concrete, added built-in seating and a performance space, new pedestrian lighting, and plants to reinforce the liveliness. Later added was a drinking fountain, WalkNYC wayfinding signs, bike racks to serve commuters, an automatic pay toilet, and more furniture.<ref name="QNS">Template:Cite web</ref> Maintenance and technical assistance (including daily cleaning) services for the plaza are funded by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT),<ref name="NYCDOT">Template:Cite web</ref> which has also partnered with the Queens Museum to bring programming to the newly transformed space. The plaza was fully implemented in early 2018 at a cost of around $5.6 million.<ref name="NYCDOT"/> Corona Plaza is recognized by urban planning circles as a project that has created a new community space.

Demographics

According to the 2010 census, the total population of Corona was about 110,000.<ref>Table PL-P1 NTA: Total Population New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas, 2010 Template:Webarchive</ref> Corona's population is overwhelmingly Hispanic; all other demographic groups (Asian, non-Hispanic black, and non-Hispanic white) form a significantly smaller share than they do for the borough as a whole.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Corona is divided into two neighborhood tabulation areas, Corona (south of Roosevelt Avenue) and North Corona (north of Roosevelt Avenue), which collectively comprise the population of the greater neighborhood.<ref>New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010 Template:Webarchive, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.</ref>

Corona

Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the population of Corona south of Roosevelt Avenue was 57,658, a change of 5,576 (9.7%) from the 52,082 counted in 2000. Covering an area of Template:Cvt, the neighborhood had a population density of Template:Convert.<ref name="PLP5">Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010 Template:Webarchive, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.</ref>

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 8.4% (4,851) White, 13.6% (7,845) Black, 0.2% (130) Native American, 12.7% (7,346) Asian, 0% (9) Pacific Islander, 0.5% (280) from other races, and 1.3% (723) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 63.3% (36,474) of the population.<ref name="PLP3A">Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010 Template:Webarchive, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.</ref>

The entirety of Community Board 4, which comprises Corona and Elmhurst, had 135,972 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.4 years.<ref name="CHP2018">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.<ref name=":21">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 17% are between the ages of 0–17, 39% between 25 and 44, and 24% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 8% and 12%, respectively.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp

As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 4 was $51,992.<ref name="CB4PUMA">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2018, an estimated 27% of Corona and Elmhurst residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in fourteen residents (7%) were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 62% in Corona and Elmhurst, higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51%, respectively. Based on this calculation, Template:As of, Corona and Elmhurst are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp

As according to the 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning, Corona had 51,500 Hispanic residents, there were between 10,000 and 19,999 Asian residents, and 5,000 to 9,000 Black residents, meanwhile the White residents were less than 5000.<ref>Template:Cite web#%5B%7B%22num%22%3A235%2C%22gen%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22name%22%3A%22FitR%22%7D%2C-36%2C-50%2C1371%2C841%5D</ref><ref name="cnn.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

North Corona

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of North Corona was 52,037, a change of 4,881 (9.4%) from the 47,156 counted in 2000. Covering an area of Template:Cvt, the neighborhood had a population density of Template:Convert.<ref name="PLP5"/>

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 1.8% (929) White, 4.9% (2,566) African American, 0.1% (67) Native American, 6.9% (3,597) Asian, 0% (5) Pacific Islander, 0.7% (351) from other races, and 0.5% (259) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 85.1% (44,263) of the population.<ref name="PLP3A"/>

The 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning showed North Corona having between 30,000 and 39,999 Hispanic residents, meanwhile each the White, Black, and Asian residents were all each less than 5,000 residents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cnn.com"/>

Police and crime

Corona is patrolled by the 110th and 115th Precincts of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), located at 94-41 43rd Avenue and 92-15 Northern Boulevard, respectively.<ref name="NYPD 110th Precinct">Template:Cite web</ref> The 110th Precinct ranked 15th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, with a non-fatal assault rate of 34 per 100,000 people, Corona's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 227 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp

The 110th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 83.2% between 1990 and 2020. The precinct reported four murders, 29 rapes, 270 robberies, 359 felony assaults, 196 burglaries, 485 grand larcenies, and 138 grand larcenies auto in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fire safety

Engine Co. 289/Ladder Co. 138

Corona is served by two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations:<ref>Template:Cite FDNY locations</ref>

  • Engine Co. 324/Satellite 4/Division 14 – 108-01 Horace Harding Expressway<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Engine Co. 289/Ladder Co. 138 – 97-28 43rd Avenue<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Health

Template:As of, preterm births are less common in Corona and Elmhurst than in other places citywide, but births to teenage mothers are more common. In Corona and Elmhurst, there were 83 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 25.8 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp Corona and Elmhurst have a high population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 25%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Corona and Elmhurst is Template:Convert, slightly higher than the city average.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp Fifteen percent of Corona and Elmhurst residents are smokers, which is slightly higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp In Corona and Elmhurst, 20% of residents are obese, 9% are diabetic, and 23% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 20%, 14%, and 24%, respectively.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp In addition, 24% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp

Eighty-eight percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is slightly higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 68% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp For every supermarket in Corona and Elmhurst, there are 16 bodegas.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp

The Elmhurst Hospital Center is located in Elmhurst.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Incidents

In 2020, the neighborhoods of Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of, these communities, with a cumulative 303,494 residents, had recorded 12,954 COVID-19 cases and 1,178 deaths.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> COVID-19 cases in ZIP Codes 11368 and 11369 were the highest of any ZIP Code in New York City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Post office and ZIP Code

Corona is covered by ZIP Code 11368.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The United States Post Office operates two post offices in Corona: the Corona A Station at 103-28 Roosevelt Avenue<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Elmhurst Station at 59-01 Junction Boulevard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Religion

The original Church of Lady of Sorrows, 37th Avenue, which burned in 2015

There are many churches representing diverse denominations. Antioch Baptist Church at 103rd Street and Northern Boulevard is a prominent African American congregation dating to 1936 with a membership of 700.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Saint Leo Catholic Church, established in 1903 in what was once Sycamore Avenue and Elm Street, is a Roman Catholic church located at 104 Street and 49th Avenue in South Corona.<ref>The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X, Vol. III. New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914.</ref> In North Corona there is Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church at 104th Street and 37th Avenue was built in 1899 largely out of red brick with a nearby convent of the same period.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Today it conducts most of its masses in Spanish<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and attracts large weekend crowds. On January 4, 2015, the church burned;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> it was rebuilt in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Congregation Tifereth Israel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.<ref name="nris"/>

Education

Corona and Elmhurst generally have a lower ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city Template:As of. While 28% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 30% have less than a high school education and 42% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 39% of Queens residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp The percentage of Corona and Elmhurst students excelling in math rose from 36% in 2000 to 66% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 42% to 49% during the same time period.<ref name=":17">Template:Cite web</ref>

Corona and Elmhurst's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Corona and Elmhurst, 11% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, lower than the citywide average of 20%.<ref name=":21"/>Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp Additionally, 81% of high school students in Corona and Elmhurst graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.<ref name="CHP2018"/>Template:Rp

Schools

PS 92 Harry T Stewart Sr

The following public elementary schools are located in Corona and serves grades K–5 unless otherwise indicated:<ref name="Zillow">Template:Cite web</ref>

The following public middle and high schools are located in Corona:<ref name="Zillow"/>

  • IS 61 Leonardo da Vinci (grades 6–8)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • High School for Arts and Business (grades 9–12)
  • Corona Arts & Sciences Academy (grades 6–8)

Library

The Queens Public Library contains three branches in Corona:

Black Heritage Reference Center of Queens County

Corona also houses one of the most extensive collections of African-American art and literature in the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center, which serves Queens with reference and circulating collections, totaling approximately 30,000 volumes of materials written about or relating to black culture. The Black Heritage Reference Center of Queens County includes books, periodicals, theses and dissertations, VHS videos, cassettes and CDs, photographs, posters, prints, paintings, and sculpture. Cultural arts programs are scheduled through the center. Meeting space is available to community organizations by application. Special features of the Center include:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

  • The Schomburg Clippings File, an extensive microfiche collection of periodicals, magazine clippings, typescripts, broadsides, pamphlets, programs, book reviews, menus and ephemera of all kinds.
  • The UMI Thesis and Dissertation Collection consists of more than 1,000 volumes of doctoral and master dissertations concerning the African and African-American diasporas.
  • The Adele Cohen Music Collection contains most of America's foremost black publications on microfilm. The papers cover 15 states beginning in 1893, and are updated each year with current issues.
  • The Black Heritage Video Collection documents the history and culture of Africans and African-Americans on tape, and in all subject areas including literature, biography, social science, fine arts.

Transportation

The New York City Subway's IRT Flushing Line (Template:NYCS trains) runs through the neighborhood with stops at Mets–Willets Point, 111th Street, 103rd Street–Corona Plaza, and Junction Boulevard.<ref>Template:NYCS const</ref> The Template:NYC bus link buses also serve the neighborhood.<ref>Template:Cite NYC bus map</ref>

The area was formerly served by the Long Island Rail Road's Corona station on the Port Washington Branch, but this closed in 1964. As of 2025, the closest active station, further to the east in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, is Mets–Willets Point (LIRR station)

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Corona include: Template:Clear Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

  • Books about Corona's history and present include Roger Sanjek's The Future of Us All and Steven Gregory's Black Corona.
  • Chapter 6 of Andrew Morton's biography Madonna describes American pop singer Madonna's brief stint as a Corona resident in the late 1970s and early '80s.
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald referred to the Flushing Meadows–Corona Park dumps as the "valley of ashes" in his novel The Great Gatsby.
  • Paul Simon referred to a fictional character as "Rosie, the queen of Corona" in his 1972 song Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.
  • Lemon Ice King of Corona appears in the opening credits of the TV show The King of Queens.<ref name=":0"/>
  • Archie Bunker of All in the Family, at fictional 704 Hauser Street.<ref>Roberts, Sam. "The Cranky Spirit Of Archie Bunker Haunts This House" Template:Webarchive, The New York Times, December 19, 1993. Accessed August 9, 2018. "Mr. Lear, who only occasionally passes through Queens on his way to or from the city's airports, wasn't much help in identifying Archie's old neighborhood, but Sean Dwyer, director of development at Mr. Lear's production company, Act III Communications, unequivocally ruled out Glendale, Ridgewood, Woodside, Maspeth, Astoria and several other candidates and pinpointed the likely locale as Corona. 'I talked to a schoolteacher and one of the writers, whose mother lives in Corona,' Mr. Dwyer said. 'It used to be white middle class. Now it's racially mixed: white, Jewish, black, Indian, Latinos. Number 704 Hauser Street is in Corona.'"</ref>

See also

References

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Template:Queens Template:Chinatowns in the United States Template:Portal bar Template:Authority control

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