The infamous corner of the Long Island Expressway and Junction Boulevard; the sole musty gem on the crown of Queens; the one place synonymous with issues of public housing: LeFrak City.

LeFrak City is a public housing complex in South Corona, established by its eponymous LeFrak organization (established by landlord/urban developer Samuel J. LeFrak). The housing complex began to reach the skies of Corona in the post-war era, as demand for public housing rose following Lyndon B. Johnson’s plans for the “Great Society”. The construction project was privately funded and officially opened to the public in 1969. At affordable rates of $40/room, and boasting a groundspace of 5,000 apartments across 40 acres, combined with a branch of the Queens Public Library, it was a steal deal for middle class families who wanted a taste of the upper-class life without the financial burden that came with living in Manhattan.

“LEFRAK CITY HOMICIDE ENDS CITY’S TEN-DAY STREAK”-Times Ledger, January 2013

“LIFE AND DEATH IN LEFRAK” -NYT, March 2013

“DA SAYS 46 ARRESTED IN LEFRAK DRUG STING”-Times Ledger, October 2011

Since its inception in the late 1960s, LeFrak City has been synonymous with the issues of public housing and is considered an infamous crime corner of Queens. Its location on Junction Boulevard was a significant factor in its infamous reputation. Junction Boulevard, at the beginning and height of the Civil Rights era, was considered the “Mason-Dixon line of Corona”; the commercial center of the boulevard divided the lower-middle class blacks on the eastern side of Corona and the upper-middle class whites on western Corona. In addition to the influx of middle to lower-income families into LeFrak in the early 1970s, the remaining racial tensions in the area led to a stifling atmosphere for the community members.

“LeFrak security is bad. These kids are ten going on forty […] When I moved to [LeFrak] there was no crime […] [The DA] doesn’t want to admit we need more policemen“

–Joe Sardegna, Chief of Security for Queens Public Library, ca. 1995 (from “Black Corona: Race and Politics of Place”, by Steven Gregory, 1998)

Police presence in LeFrak City in response to a homicide in January 2013, ending the city’s “10 days since the last homicide”

Crime in LeFrak City remains an issue for the community of South Corona. Due to the lack of affordable housing for middle to low income families in central Queens, the stagnant, crime-ridden life of the residents of LeFrak City may just be inescapable.

Candles lit in a LeFrak City courtyard, in memory of shooting victim Jahim Campbell, 24; Photo cred Times Ledger, 2013