for Gothamist: 'A beacon of hope': 3 years after COVID-19 devastated Queens, Corona Plaza becomes bustling market by José A. Alvarado Jr.

News

for Gothamist: 'A beacon of hope': 3 years after COVID-19 devastated Queens, Corona Plaza becomes bustling market

josé a. alvarado jr.

Mar 23, 2023

Location: Corona Plaza

Three years after Corona and its surrounding neighborhoods in Queens became the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, the area once hit hardest by the virus has slowly transformed into a bustling market full of street vendors.

On any given day, Corona Plaza is lined with vendors selling food, clothes and other things mostly from Central and South America. The smell of grilled meat wafts through the air, each stand with its own soundtrack below the roaring 7 train tracks. But it didn’t always look this way. Before the pandemic, only a few vendors shared the space.

The Corona/North Corona region recorded an above-average COVID-19 death rate of 618.83 per 100,000 people according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The citywide death rate was 539.83 per 100,000 people as of Tuesday.)

Photographed for Gothamist, with words by Catalina Gonella

'A beacon of hope': 3 years after COVID-19 devastated Queens, Corona Plaza becomes bustling market
On any given day, Corona Plaza is lined with vendors selling food, clothes and other things mostly from Central and South America.
Gothamist.com

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José A. Alvarado Jr.

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