It’s a food oasis with affordable, amazing, and authentic tastes from around the world. The only problem is that there are so many great vendors that even the savviest shopper can get lost in all the deliciousness.
Queens Economic Development Corporation recently released We Are Corona Plaza as part of its AvenueNYC program that’s funded by the NYC Department of Small Business Services. Devin T. Klos produced it with assistance from Queens Together.
The almost-five-minute video kicks off by showing a map with 11 hotspots inside Corona Plaza, a busy common area in the vicinity of 103rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue that locals call “La Placita.” The narrator, Andres Barbosa, describes “a marketplace filled with the taste of home from anywhere and everywhere,” before visiting Tulcinango Mexican Bakery, where an owner shows his best-selling product, the concha pastry (chocolate and strawberry).
The next sequences depict Quesadillas Lola (Mexico, Chicharrón Prensado), Tacos al Gusto (Mexico, Tacos al Pastor), La Suquita (Ecuador, Sancocho), a Bangladeshi fruit vendor, Tripa Mishqui (Ecuador, Chicken Stew), La Doña (Mexico, Birria Tacos), Sr. San Pablo (Mexico, Tlayudas Oaxeñas), U Crew Creamery (Chinese natives who sell Thai crepes), Sabor Guatemalteco (Guatemala, Pepián de Pollo), and Las Americas (Chinese/Latin Fusion, House Fried Rice). Some subjects speak English, while others talk in Spanish with English subtitles.
Then as candid action images flash on the screen, Barbosa concludes: “It’s a hustling, working class community that was devastated by the virus in the spring of 2020, yet now it has come rushing back in a swarm of delicious aromas, culture, and energy.”
“We did this to showcase the indoor and outdoor businesses that make Corona Plaza so special,” said QEDC Program Manager Sam Massol. “They serve some of the best food in the city, and I hope people will support them.”
With help from such entities as Latin Women In Action and the Street Vendor Project, Massol coordinates efforts to provide business support and technical assistance — training webinars, counseling, COVID-related resources, etc. – to merchants in the commercial corridor along Roosevelt Avenue between Junction Boulevard and 114th Street.
Images: We Are Corona Plaza