37th Avenue is one of Jackson Heights’ major commercial streets. It runs parallel to Roosevelt Ave. Even though it is only a block away from Roosevelt, 37th Ave has an entirely different feel. There is no subway platform hanging over, and there are many trees lining the street, so it is significantly brighter and quieter. By walking along 37th Ave from Junction to 74th St, we hope to see a pattern in commercial density similar to what we’d expect along Roosevelt: that the densest areas are closest to the 7 train stops.

All photographs I took myself. The land usage maps were made on oasisnyc.net in Make Maps>Steward Search.

A key for the land usage maps constructed with NYC OASIS.

37th Ave from Junction Blvd to 82nd St.

Junction is one of the stops on the 7 train that is a block from 37th Ave. I’ve already documented the trends in this area in my post on Junction here.

A supermarket on Junction and 37th.

There is a decent amount of foot traffic that carries over from Junction onto 37th in the direction of Jackson Heights. Most shoppers and pedestrians stay on Junction, however. The smaller shops in this area are diverse in their makeup.

There is a small triangle on Elmhurst Ave and 37th. The purpose is mostly for beautification, not for public use.

The storefronts and street vendors begin to get more close together as we approach 90th St. The otherwise serene setting of 37th Ave becomes significantly more crowded with foot traffic and noise at 90th St. Some examples of stores are a supermarket, multiple groceries, convenience stores, pharmacies, etc.

90th and 37th. This intersection is one block from the 90th St – Elmhurst Ave 7 train stop.

A block or so further along 37th, the street becomes relatively serene once again. There is little foot traffic between 90th and 82nd.

PS 222 is a bilingual magnet school on 37th Ave and 87th St.

As we approach 82nd St, 37th Ave becomes much more crowded again. There are several Colombian stores that spilled over from Little Colombia on 82nd St. There is also a yoga place, which is a subtle indicator of gentrification. This is because we are approaching the heart of the historic district. The store fronts here are also more so united because they are a part of the already established 82nd Street Partnership. The stretch of street near 82nd St is very heavily trafficked.

A Colombian Jeans store close to 82nd St.

Near 82nd St are many banks, pharmacies, clothing and food stores, convenience stores, and fruit stands.

82nd St is the commercial heart of the historic district. This area is known as Little Colombia, but due to gentrification, there is an increasingly high number of national chain stores popping up along 82nd.

37th Ave from 82nd St to 74th St.

The storefronts from 82nd to 77th St have uniform banners in many cases. This is one effect of gentrification and the push for a “cleaner looking” Jackson Heights.

United banners for storefronts on 37th.

As we get further from 82nd St, 37th becomes much quieter and less trafficked. By 79th St, there is a Starbucks, a salon, a public school, and a U.S. Post Office all close together.

A Starbucks and a salon on 79th St and 37th Ave. Also in the picture is a banner advertising a Queens LGBTQ Pride Day that is set to take place in Jackson Heights in June. 

As we approach 74th St, 37th begins to get crowded with storefronts and foot traffic once again. Instead of many of the Hispanic owned stores that we see along most of 37th Ave, there are many Indian and South Asian stores in this area. 74th St is known as Little India. Here they sell a variety of ethnic clothing, food, jewelry, and movies.

A view of 37th Ave as we approach Little India.

As we walk along 37th Ave from Junction to 74th St, we see a few trends that we might have expected:

• the areas that are being gentrified the most are included within the Historic District. You can read about the history of the Historic District here.
• the greatest number of national chain stores are on 82nd St, where a BID has already been established.

Most importantly to our study of Roosevelt Ave, we can clearly see that the most heavily trafficked areas of 37th Ave are at the intersections of Junction, 90th St, 82nd St, and 74th St. What makes this important is that these streets are all stops for the 7 train. We can easily conclude that the businesses located here did so because of the proximity to these stops, and that likewise, people shop at these businesses because of their proximity to these stops.

The development of Jackson Heights as well as the surrounding areas had much to do with the location of the 7 line. As we can see, this development not only affected Roosevelt Ave, but it also heavily impacted the development of 37th Ave as well as the other side streets close to the train stops. There is no similar affect in Elmhurst because there is no equivalent parallel avenue in Elmhurst. In the case of 37th Ave, Roosevelt Ave is a major destination and drop off point from which people move into Jackson Heights. This has led to a great amount of development along 37th.

Corona Plaza is a small open space that was created for the public to enjoy under the 7 train. Corona Plaza marks one of the busiest spots in all of Corona. It sits at the intersection of three major roads: Roosevelt, 103rd St, and National St. Here I’ve documented the changes in land usage as you walk from 103rd St to National St. By analyzing the changes between 103rd St and National St as we cross Roosevelt Ave, we can hope to come to some conclusions about Roosevelt’s role in and around Corona Plaza.

All photographs I took myself. The land usage maps were made on oasisnyc.net in Make Maps>Steward Search.

A key for the land usage maps constructed with NYC OASIS.

103rd St, National St, and Roosevelt Ave all meet at Corona Plaza.

In North Corona on 103rd St and 35th Ave, the surrounding area is almost completely residential besides a corner bodega. 103rd St is one way and therefore quite narrow. From 35th to 37th is a dense mix of residences and small churches. The churches seem to serve a variety of different Christian sects. They all offer Spanish language services.

A Key Food supermarket branded with “Plaza Latina.” This is an allusion to the nearby Corona Plaza and its predominantly Hispanic constituency.

The block between 37th and 39th Aves is a very long one. Because the block is relatively flat and empty, the effect is slightly claustrophobic. The first half is mostly two or three story residential apartment units.

Residences along 103rd St between 37th and 39th. The poor condition of the sidewalk indicates little attention paid by the city.

The second half becomes much more crowded with storefronts: laundromats, dollar stores, dentists, clothing shops, etc. None of these are nationally based, most are built for a Latino population. There is little foot traffic around here.

A few storefronts on 103rd between 37th and 39th.

The block between 39th Ave and Roosevelt is very short in comparison to the previous and is also drastically more dense with commercial buildings. The most immediate change is the presence of a large Queens County Savings Bank building.

A Queens County Savings Bank building opens up 103rd St to a much more dense cluster of commercial buildings as we move closer to Roosevelt.

This block is highly dense with storefronts and pedestrians. This street is littered with Hispanic food places, dollar stores, furniture stores, and bodegas. Many of these businesses have residences on their second floors. On the corner of Roosevelt is a Dunkin Donuts, which reflects the more national chain based nature of the commercial buildings on Roosevelt and around Corona Plaza.

103rd St, Roosevelt in the distance.

Roosevelt Ave is, as per usual, crowded with businesses, cars, and people. The usual loud noise coming from the 7 tracks is compounded by nearby construction.

A view of Corona Plaza from the other side of Roosevelt.

The plaza itself is much more serene – a welcome relief from the hectic 103rd St. Even though it was noon on a Tuesday, there was still a good amount of people using the plaza.

Corona Plaza.

Like we saw on 103rd St, National St is very clustered with commercial buildings near Roosevelt. Several are national chain stores, but nearby are also food carts and ethnic based food places.

Some chain stores on National St near Roosevelt.

One block down National from Corona Plaza is another, larger park: Park of the Americas on National and 41st Ave. The park provides Corona with valuable green space, a playground, and baseball fields.

Park of the Americas on National St and 41st Ave.

Unlike 103rd St, National St becomes devoid of any commercial buildings relatively quickly. They become few and far apart after 42nd Ave, only two short blocks from Roosevelt. A few buildings include a laundromat, a Hispanic food place, a hairdresser, and a realty office.

A store advertising food products for Mexicans and for Hispanics in general.

By looking at the changes observed between 103rd St and National St as we cross Roosevelt Ave, we can conclude several things about Roosevelt’s role as a major street.

• Roosevelt is a unifier: 103rd St and National St are continuous in their land usage makeup even when otherwise they would not be
• Roosevelt is also a border: there are distinct differences in the setting of 103rd and National that are determined by their surrounding neighborhoods
• Roosevelt is an epicenter: commercial and pedestrian activity climax near Corona Plaza and Roosevelt
• Roosevelt is a destination: the choice to place Corona Plaza here has much to do with its relationship with Roosevelt and the 7 train station

There is no one clear answer as to exactly what Roosevelt serves as in this location. I’ve demonstrated that several roles make sense when looking at its relationship to 103rd and National. These findings only add to our already complex understanding of Roosevelt Ave.

Junction Boulevard is a heavily used commercial avenue that separates Corona from Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. The land usage along this street varies with respect to other nearby main roads. Here I’ve documented the types of businesses and buildings that you can see as you walk along Junction starting at 57th Avenue in Corona/Elmhurst and ending at Northern Blvd in Corona/Jackson Heights.

All photographs I took myself. The land usage maps were made on oasisnyc.net in Make Maps>Steward Search.

A key for the land usage maps constructed with NYC OASIS.

Junction Blvd from the Horace Harding Expressway to Corona Ave.

57th Ave looking towards the Horace Harding Expressway. The buildings in the background belong to LeFrak City.

Traffic wise, Junction Blvd is usually most congested from 57th Ave to the Horace Harding Expressway. This is due to the proximity to the Long Island Expressway and the Queens Center Mall, bus congestion, and other developments related to LeFrak City.
Buildings present include:

• “LeFrak City” building, which houses government offices, drug stores, commercial offices
• Elmhurst/Corona Post Office
• supermarket
• diverse and compact grouping of different medical specialty offices: dentistry, orthopedics, physical therapy

Residential buildings along Junction. Most are single or multifamily residences.

Junction is mostly residential from 57th Ave to Corona Ave. These residences are usually 2-3 story, single or multifamily homes, much like many homes in neighboring Elmhurst.

Corona and Junction. Corona is another main corridor that runs through Elmhurst and Corona.

Corona Ave runs through the heart of Corona and then into Elmhurst. Especially around Junction Blvd, this street is crowded with Latino-run restaurants, groceries, night clubs, laundromats, hair salons, etc.

Land usage along Junction from Corona Ave to Roosevelt Ave.

An auto repair shop on Junction and Alstyne with both Spanish and Chinese signage.

This portion of Junction Blvd consists of mainly residences and mixed use buildings.  Pictured above is an autoshop on Alstyne Ave. There is much less foot traffic around this area.

The Port Washington LIRR runs through Corona and Elmhurst.

The LIRR line here separates Corona Heights from Corona. The streets that run along have long been a concern of residents because of the higher rates of crime and vandalism that occurred there. More recently there has been a push for cleanup of these streets.

Near by the railroad towards Corona are also some industrial use buildings. These buildings are associated with food processing. This makes sense given the high number of restaurants in the area.

A Colombian restaurant on 41st Ave and Junction.

Junction begins to get very crowded with storefronts and foot traffic as we approach Roosevelt Ave. This mostly happens after 41st Ave, pictured above.

A row of Hispanic restaurants on Junction close to Roosevelt Ave. Each is specific to a different Hispanic country.

From 41st Ave to Roosevelt, Junction is heavily crowded with an assortment of Latino-run businesses. On the Corona side of the street (pictured above) is a row of nationality based Hispanic restaurants. The Elmhurst side hosts a collection of law offices, convenience stores, and seasonal stands.

A view of Roosevelt Ave from Junction Ave.

The intersection of Roosevelt and Junction. The 7 train platform for Junction Blvd is seen above the street.

The intersection of Roosevelt and Junction is also the intersection of three neighborhoods: Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and Corona. This intersection is nearly always congested with car, bike, and foot traffic. The combination of all three in one place is no doubt hazardous to pedestrians. The 7 train platform blocks out much of the sunlight from reaching Roosevelt Ave.

Junction Blvd from Roosevelt Ave to Northern Boulevard. Here, Junction acts as a border between Corona and Jackson Heights. This section of Junction is included in the proposal for the Jackson Heights Corona BID.

A variety of shops to the north of Roosevelt.

Junction is very much a commercial street from Roosevelt to 35th Ave. Unlike other sections of Junction or Roosevelt, this length of Junction is more open and lined with trees, which makes it more inviting. Many stores are small businesses of a wide variety, but there are also several national chains. Most of the national chain stores are on the Jackson Heights side. Most stores are not oriented around specific nationalities.

Junction Blvd is wide and open in this area – quite different from Roosevelt Ave.

A business offering multiple services (all aimed at Latinos) close to Roosevelt.

The businesses that are located here change hands often. Several appeared to be in transition, and there were at least two moving trucks parked outside.

Junction and 37th Ave. To the east is North Corona.

Past 37th Ave, the concentration of stores and the amount of foot traffic begin to decrease. The street resembles the types of businesses you’d see on 37th Ave in Jackson Heights. There are also more businesses related to specific Hispanic nationalities.

35th Ave and Junction.

Junction and its side streets become much less commercial and much more residential after 35th Ave. This area resembles North Corona. Nearby is a building for the NYC Department of Health, a supermarket, and a playground.

A co-op building typical of Jackson Heights on 34th Ave and Junction.

34th Ave has garden planters in the middle of the road and is lined with trees. This street leads right into the heart of Jackson Heights’ historic district. North of 34th Ave, Junction is mostly residential with a few row of combination stores/residences on the Corona side of the street.

Mixed use buildings on Junction near Northern Blvd.

Junction and Northern Blvd. Northern Blvd is a major thoroughfare in Queens.

North of Northern Blvd, Junction is almost entirely residential, matching the feel of East Elmhurst.

Through my analysis of Junction Blvd, we can make several clear observations:

• the land usage along Junction varies according to the neighborhood that it’s a part of
• the residential buildings along Junction mirror the style of the neighborhood that it’s a part of
• the usage becomes more commercial near other major commercial streets (57th Ave, Corona, Roosevelt)

Most importantly in terms of our study of Roosevelt Ave, we can note that Junction Blvd becomes most congested and trafficked near Roosevelt. In fact, the further you get from Roosevelt, the less commercial Junction becomes (with a few exceptions). This further highlights the idea of Roosevelt being a neighborhood epicenter.