Corona, Queens

History

The area was originally known as West Flushing, but real estate developer Thomas Waite Howard, who became the first postmaster in 1872, petitioned to have the post office name changed to Corona in 1870, suggesting that it was the "crown of Queens County." Another theory is that the name Corona derives from the crown used as an emblem by the Crown Building Company, which is said to have developed the area. The Italian immigrants who moved into the new housing stock referred to the neighborhood by the Italian or Spanish word for "crown", or corona. 
Corona was a late 19th-century residential development in the northeastern corner of the old Town of Newtown. Real estate speculators from New York started the community in 1854, the same year that the New York and Flushing Railroad began service to the area largely to serve a newly opened race course.  It was at the Fashion Race Course in 1858 that the first games of baseball to charge admission took place. The games, which took place between the All Stars of Brooklyn and the All Stars of New York, are commonly believed to be the first all star baseball games and in essence the birthplace of professional baseball. A trophy baseball from this tournament recently sold for nearly $500,000.
During the second half of the 1940s through the 1960s, many legendary African American musicians, civil rights leaders and athletes moved to the neighborhood. In the last half of the 20th century, Corona saw dramatic ethnic successions. In the 1950s, what was predominantly an Italian American and African American neighborhood began to give way to an influx of Dominicans. In the late 1990s, Corona saw a new wave of immigrants from Latin America. The area north of Roosevelt Avenue contained the heart of the historic African American community. The intersection of 108th Street and Corona Avenue is the historic center of the Italian American community, sometimes referred to as Corona Heights. The majority Hispanic community now consists of Dominicans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Bolivians, Peruvians, Mexicans, Venezuelans, and Chileans. There are also Asian Americans (Chinese, Indians, Koreans, Filipinos, and Japanese) as well as Italian Americans and African Americans.

Structures

Corona has several private schools including School of the Transfiguration. Public schools include the High School for Arts and Business and P.S. 92.
There are many churches representing diverse denominations. Antioch Baptist Church at 103rd Street and Northern Boulevard is a prominent African American congregation dating to 1936 with a membership of 700.  Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church at 104th Street and 37th Avenue was built in 1899 largely out of red brick with a nearby convent of the same period. Today it conducts most of its masses in Spanish and attracts large weekend crowds. In January 4, 2015, the church burned around 6:00 AM and rebuild in 2017 after it had a festival after the reconstruction The Congregation Tifereth Israel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
Dorie Miller Residential Cooperative, built in 1952, comprises six buildings, containing 300 apartments, with 1,300 rooms in total. The cooperative is named after Doris "Dorie" Miller, a U.S. Naval hero at Pearl Harbor and the first African American recipient of the Navy Cross. Among its original residents were jazz greats Nat Adderley & Jimmy Heath; Kenneth and Corien Drew, publishers of Queens' first African-American newspaper, The Corona East Elmhurst News, Thelma E. Harris founder of Aburi Press and prominent Queens Judge Henry A, Slaughter. Corona was also the childhood home of Marie Maynard Daly. A biochemist, Daly was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Daly studied the effects of cholesterol on the mechanics of the heart, the effects of sugars and other nutrients on the health of arteries, and the breakdown of the circulatory system as a result of advanced age or hypertension; this scientist subsequently studied how proteins are produced and organized in the cell and the composition and metabolism of components of the cell nucleus.
The Louis Armstrong House attracts visitors to the neighborhood and preserves the legacy of musician Louis Armstrong, one of Corona's most prominent historical residents.  It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

Demographics

According to the 2010 Census, the total population of Corona was about 110,000. Corona is overwhelmingly Hispanic with all other demographics (Asian, black, and non-Hispanic white) being definitively below the borough average.
Corona is divided into two neighborhood tabulation areas, Corona (south of Roosevelt Avenue) and North Corona (north of Roosevelt Avenue), which collectively comprise the population of the greater neighborhood.

Corona

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Corona south of Roosevelt Avenue was 57,658, a change of 5,576 (9.7%) from the 52,082 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 462.74 acres (187.26 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 124.6 inhabitants per acre (79,700/sq mi; 30,800/km²).
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 8.4% (4,851) White, 13.6% (7,845) African American, 0.2% (130) Native American, 12.7% (7,346) Asian, 0% (9) Pacific Islander, 0.5% (280) from other races, and 1.3% (723) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 63.3% (36,474) of the population.
The entirety of Community Board 4, which comprises Corona and Elmhurst, had 135,972 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.4 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 17% are between the ages of 0–17, 39% between 25–44, and 24% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 8% and 12% respectively.
As of 2017, the median household income in Community Board 4 was $51,992. In 2018, an estimated 27% of Corona and Elmhurst residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City. One in fourteen residents (7%) were unemployed, compared to 8% in Queens and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 62% in Corona and Elmhurst, higher than the boroughwide and citywide rates of 53% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018, Corona and Elmhurst are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

North Corona

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of North Corona was 52,037, a change of 4,881 (9.4%) from the 47,156 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 413.24 acres (167.23 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 125.9 inhabitants per acre (80,600/sq mi; 31,100/km²).
The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 1.8% (929) White, 4.9% (2,566) African American, 0.1% (67) Native American, 6.9% (3,597) Asian, 0% (5) Pacific Islander, 0.7% (351) from other races, and 0.5% (259) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 85.1% (44,263) of the population.

Police and crime

Corona and Elmhurst are patrolled by the 110th Precinct of the NYPD, located at 94-41 43rd Avenue. The 110th Precinct ranked 15th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. With a non-fatal assault rate of 34 per 100,000 people, Corona and Elmhurst's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 227 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.
The 110th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 82.5% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct saw 2 murders, 43 rapes, 263 robberies, 328 felony assaults, 136 burglaries, 605 grand larcenies, and 102 grand larcenies auto in 2018.

Health

Preterm births are less common in Corona and Elmhurst than in other places citywide, but teenage births are more common. In Corona and Elmhurst, there were 83 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 25.8 teenage births per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Corona and Elmhurst have a high population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 25%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Corona and Elmhurst is 0.0077 milligrams per cubic metre (7.7×10⁻⁹ oz/cu ft), slightly higher than the city average. Fifteen percent of Corona and Elmhurst residents are smokers, which is equal to the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Corona and Elmhurst, 20% of residents are obese, 9% are diabetic, and 23% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 20%, 14%, and 24% respectively. In addition, 24% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.
Eighty-eight percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 68% of residents described their health as "good," "very good," or "excellent," lower than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Corona and Elmhurst, there are 16 bodegas.
The Elmhurst Hospital Center is located in Elmhurst.

Post office and ZIP code

Corona is covered by ZIP Code 11368. The United States Post Office operates two post offices in Corona: the Corona A Station at 103-28 Roosevelt Avenue and the Elmhurst Station at 59-01 Junction Boulevard.

Education

Corona and Elmhurst generally have a lower ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city. While 28% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 30% have less than a high school education and 42% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 39% of Queens residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Corona and Elmhurst students excelling in math rose from 36% in 2000 to 66% in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 42% to 49% during the same time period.
Corona and Elmhurst's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City. In Corona and Elmhurst, 11% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, lower than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 81% of high school students in Corona and Elmhurst graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

Transportation

The New York City Subway's IRT Flushing Line (7 and <7>​ trains) runs through the neighborhood with stops at Mets–Willets Point, 111th Street, 103rd Street–Corona Plaza, and Junction Boulevard. The Q19, Q23, Q33, Q48, Q49, Q58, Q66 and Q72 buses also serve the neighborhood.