OuterB on Queens Real Estate

At Junction Blvd, a blog about Corona and Elmhurst, I was pointed to an interesting, yet brief, audio/video slideshow, as well as a short film, about Corona. Issues of race and language are a common thread among the speakers in both pieces.

I’ve spent a little bit of time in Corona, but not much. I would like to explore it beyond Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and the Lemon Ice King. My understanding is that it was for a long time a traditionally Italian and African American neighborhood, but is now more Hispanic. What changes have you seen in Corona? Do you agree with the sentiments expressed in the slideshow and short film? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Related:

Corona: a neighborhood transformed [New Media Newsroom via Junction Blvd]
Changing Face of Corona [Junction Blvd]
Corona on OuterB

Zachary Korb over on his site wowflutter.com, posted a series of photos of LeFrak City, a large housing complex in Queens. Not a housing project, per se, the buildings are constructed in the familiar X shape so reminiscent of the projects throughout the city. It was originally built for working and middle class families, and was the home of a sizeable Jewish population. These days, its main demographic is African-American and some Russian/Soviet. Zach also links to his flickr photo set of LeFrak City on the page, which is well worth the visit.

Related:
Phototour: LeFrak City (Queens, NY) [wowflutter.com]
LeFrak City, Queens [Wikipedia]
LeFrak City: One of Largest Housing Complexes in Queens [queens.about.com]
Lefrak’s Queens [Queens Tribune]

Photo credit: Zachary Korb

Northern Queens will soon be the home of New York City’s largest-ever sports facility in a public park, the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Natatorium and Ice Rink. It’s going to be 110,000 square feet, and will hold, of course, an ice rink and an olympic-sized pool, along with locker rooms, outdoor sun decks and concession stands; it will also be accessible. The cost of this project will be $38 million.

Handel Architects, the designers, held this vision for the project:

The new 1110,000 square foot Natatorium and Ice Rink will be situated on the edge of the park acting as a transition between the neighborhood and the open green space. By placing the pool and ice arenas in a linear relationship with a public lobby space in between, the project connects two different recreational activities under one sinuous roof. In the dynamic spirit of the World’s Fairs, the building has a vibrant presence from the expressway, with soaring masts supporting a cable stay long span structure over the rink and pool and a crystalline entry lobby that glows at night

I expect this will be an awesome addition to the park and a great resource for the surrounding community and all of Queens.

Related:
Big rink, pool take shape in Queens [The Real Deal]
GROUND BROKEN ON $32 MILLION POOL AND ICE HOCKEY FACILITY IN FLUSHING MEADOW CORONA PARK [NYC Parks]
Handel Architects

The Post has been doing a series of articles on “hidden” areas of the different boroughs. Today they’ve focused on Queens. From eats, to nightlife, to shopping, combined with (relatively) lower rental and housing prices, no wonder people want to live in Queens!

Buildings of note include:

• The Kingsland Homestead, the home of the Queens Historical Society. This is the oldest house in Queens and serves as a museum (143-135 37th Ave. in Flushing).
• The Louis Armstrong House (34-56 107th St. in Corona).
• The Voelker Orth Museum, a Victorian house with a view into 19th Century Queens (149-19 38th Ave. in Flushing).
• Zion Episcopal Church, one of Queens’ oldest churches, built in 1830 (243-01 Northern Blvd. in Douglaston.
• Fort Totten, a 50-acre fort-cum-park (along the Cross Island Parkway, between Totten Avenue and 15th Road in Bay Terrace).

Related:
Hidden Queens [NY Post]
Kingsland Homestead
Louis Armstrong Home
Voelker Orth Museum
Fort Totten

Corona has a lot to offer - great food, a thriving latin american population, still manageable rents (housing prices aren’t bad either), and easy access to Manhattan and Queens environs via the 7 train.  Plus it’s near Flushing Meadows Park, which is just gorgeous.  A new public school is arriving next August.  I was recently in the neighborhood and liked it a lot, and would like to return to explore a bit.  The MTA is resurrecting the LIRR station there, which should be a great addition to this community.  The NY Daily News as a nice profile on Corona, and it’s worth reading.

• North Corona [NY Daily News]

Photo credit:  Meg Cotner

Good news for lower and middle income Queens residents - legislation to create two affordable housing zones has been passed in Albany and is just waiting for Governor Spitzer to sign it. The law would “provide 25-year property tax breaks to developers who make at least 20% of their units affordable.”

This means that both residents and developers get satisfaction. Queens is a growing borough, and housing/rental prices are going up, up, up. The communities are worried about runaway housing prices. The affordable housing zone would be able to include residents that earn lower (less than 60%) than the borough’s median income level.

The areas in question are in Woodside (between 54th and 69th Sts. and 39th Ave. and Broadway), and in the Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and Corona areas (69th and 94th Sts., 52nd Ave. and Northern Blvd. )

Related:
Affordable home zone [NY Daily News]