103rd Street – Corona Plaza

Corona Plaza is a small open space that was created for the public to enjoy under the 7 train. Corona Plaza marks one of the busiest spots in all of Corona. It sits at the intersection of three major roads: Roosevelt, 103rd St, and National St. Here I’ve documented the changes in land usage as you walk from 103rd St to National St. By analyzing the changes between 103rd St and National St as we cross Roosevelt Ave, we can hope to come to some conclusions about Roosevelt’s role in and around Corona Plaza.

All photographs I took myself. The land usage maps were made on oasisnyc.net in Make Maps>Steward Search.

A key for the land usage maps constructed with NYC OASIS.

103rd St, National St, and Roosevelt Ave all meet at Corona Plaza.

In North Corona on 103rd St and 35th Ave, the surrounding area is almost completely residential besides a corner bodega. 103rd St is one way and therefore quite narrow. From 35th to 37th is a dense mix of residences and small churches. The churches seem to serve a variety of different Christian sects. They all offer Spanish language services.

A Key Food supermarket branded with “Plaza Latina.” This is an allusion to the nearby Corona Plaza and its predominantly Hispanic constituency.

The block between 37th and 39th Aves is a very long one. Because the block is relatively flat and empty, the effect is slightly claustrophobic. The first half is mostly two or three story residential apartment units.

Residences along 103rd St between 37th and 39th. The poor condition of the sidewalk indicates little attention paid by the city.

The second half becomes much more crowded with storefronts: laundromats, dollar stores, dentists, clothing shops, etc. None of these are nationally based, most are built for a Latino population. There is little foot traffic around here.

A few storefronts on 103rd between 37th and 39th.

The block between 39th Ave and Roosevelt is very short in comparison to the previous and is also drastically more dense with commercial buildings. The most immediate change is the presence of a large Queens County Savings Bank building.

A Queens County Savings Bank building opens up 103rd St to a much more dense cluster of commercial buildings as we move closer to Roosevelt.

This block is highly dense with storefronts and pedestrians. This street is littered with Hispanic food places, dollar stores, furniture stores, and bodegas. Many of these businesses have residences on their second floors. On the corner of Roosevelt is a Dunkin Donuts, which reflects the more national chain based nature of the commercial buildings on Roosevelt and around Corona Plaza.

103rd St, Roosevelt in the distance.

Roosevelt Ave is, as per usual, crowded with businesses, cars, and people. The usual loud noise coming from the 7 tracks is compounded by nearby construction.

A view of Corona Plaza from the other side of Roosevelt.

The plaza itself is much more serene – a welcome relief from the hectic 103rd St. Even though it was noon on a Tuesday, there was still a good amount of people using the plaza.

Corona Plaza.

Like we saw on 103rd St, National St is very clustered with commercial buildings near Roosevelt. Several are national chain stores, but nearby are also food carts and ethnic based food places.

Some chain stores on National St near Roosevelt.

One block down National from Corona Plaza is another, larger park: Park of the Americas on National and 41st Ave. The park provides Corona with valuable green space, a playground, and baseball fields.

Park of the Americas on National St and 41st Ave.

Unlike 103rd St, National St becomes devoid of any commercial buildings relatively quickly. They become few and far apart after 42nd Ave, only two short blocks from Roosevelt. A few buildings include a laundromat, a Hispanic food place, a hairdresser, and a realty office.

A store advertising food products for Mexicans and for Hispanics in general.

By looking at the changes observed between 103rd St and National St as we cross Roosevelt Ave, we can conclude several things about Roosevelt’s role as a major street.

• Roosevelt is a unifier: 103rd St and National St are continuous in their land usage makeup even when otherwise they would not be
• Roosevelt is also a border: there are distinct differences in the setting of 103rd and National that are determined by their surrounding neighborhoods
• Roosevelt is an epicenter: commercial and pedestrian activity climax near Corona Plaza and Roosevelt
• Roosevelt is a destination: the choice to place Corona Plaza here has much to do with its relationship with Roosevelt and the 7 train station

There is no one clear answer as to exactly what Roosevelt serves as in this location. I’ve demonstrated that several roles make sense when looking at its relationship to 103rd and National. These findings only add to our already complex understanding of Roosevelt Ave.