Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Corona

With Support From Local Businesses, Corona Ped Plaza Will Debut in July

Under a DOT plan passed with support from local business, the community board and City Council Member Julissa Ferreras, a block of 41st Avenue next to Corona Plaza will be pedestrianized. Image: NYC DOT

The crowded streets of Corona, Queens will receive a welcome infusion of public space this July, thanks to the New York City Department of Transportation's plaza program. With wide-ranging community support, DOT will close a block of  service road between National Street and 104th Street to traffic and fill it with plants, tables, chairs and bike racks [PDF].

Corona Plaza is already a popular neighborhood space; the area is used for holiday gatherings and a weekly greenmarket. But it lacks basic amenities like public seating, and an existing strip of parkland is cut off from local shops by the service road. Local merchants -- sometimes a skeptical constituency when it comes to pedestrian plazas -- believe the plaza will be a boon for business. Corona CAN, a volunteer network of local business owners, has written in support of the plaza, and its members have convinced the larger Queens Economic Development Corporation to formally sponsor and maintain the new space.

Right now, parking spaces are taken up by moving trucks, not business customers. Image: NYC DOT

"This plaza is the heart of Corona and the engine of Roosevelt Avenue," said Ricardi Calixte, neighborhood development director at Queens EDC. "This will get people to actually hang around the area more, frequent the businesses more. It's going to bring so many more people to the plaza that the businesses will gain more from all the business they bring than they lose from a few parking spaces."

Support for the pedestrianization plan came from across the community. Community Board 4 voted unanimously in support of the proposal at a meeting last Tuesday, according to the Queens Chronicle.

City Council Member Julissa Ferreras is also a supporter. “It’s so we have a nice place to sit and a place to be proud of,” Ferreras told the Chronicle.

The Queens Museum of Art, which testified in favor of the plaza at the City Council last year, will provide programming for the new space.

In Corona, losing a few parking spaces didn't concern the business community. "Right now, the parking spaces are not really being used by customers of local businesses," explained Calixte. Many of the angled spaces are filled by large moving trucks, which Calixte argued actually hurt merchants. "When these trucks are parked in the plaza, they pretty much block the view of all the businesses in the plaza," he said.

Construction on the plaza should start with temporary materials mid-July, taking a week to complete. DOT will come back to community members later this year to assess how the pedestrian plaza is functions. If everyone likes what they see, a permanent design for the plaza will follow, with construction perhaps taking place in fall 2013 or spring 2014. Calixte said he's already looking forward to weighing in on the long-term design of the space. "We expect this plaza to succeed."

[Editor's note: This post originally stated that the new pedestrian plaza would be located on a block of 41st Avenue. The site is actually a service road for Roosevelt Avenue. The post has been amended.]

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Zona Roberts — Leading Figure in Accessibility — is Dead

The "wheel behind the wheelchair" has died.

January 16, 2025

KOMANOFF: Why I’m Not Scrutinizing Traffic Data Yet (It’s The Rebound Effect, Stupid)

Watch out, there will soon be a rebound ― a bounceback in driving when traffic moves faster, our expert says.

January 15, 2025

Exclusive: New Policy from Tisch Seeks to Reduce High-Speed NYPD Chases

The NYPD will stop initiating dangerous and often high-speed pursuits of suspects fleeing non-violent crimes and traffic infractions — a major reform that Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch hopes will reduce fatalities.

January 15, 2025

‘Trust Us’: Albany Pols Offer Only Promises To Fill Massive Hole In MTA Capital Plan

Gov. Hochul put a big "IOU" note in place of a real plan to fill the $33-billion hole in the MTA’s 2025-2029 capital plan.

January 15, 2025

Hochul’s ‘Heavy’ E-Bike Proposal is Light on Potential: Critics

Very few class 3 electric bikes reach 100 pounds. And they look a lot like class 2 e-bikes.

January 15, 2025
See all posts