Heart of Corona Initiative

Corona, Queens, the neighborhood immediately surrounding the Queens Museum of Art (QMA), is a nexus of ethnic diversity. In the past, it has been home to legends such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Malcolm X, and Ella Fitzgerald. Ever since F. Scott Fitzgerald first immortalized Flushing Meadows in The Great Gatsby, the park that houses QMA and the surrounding community have been inextricably linked. The 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs were held in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, helping to cement the area’s status as a thriving artistic and cultural community.

In the last three decades, however, Corona has experienced a major demographic shift, with a tremendous outflow of long-time residents and an influx of recent immigrants to America. The population of Corona has increased by 31.2% since 1980, and QMA has discovered that its programs serve only about one-third of the diversity found just outside its doors. Furthermore, despite the announcement by New York City (NYC) Mayor Bloomberg of citywide decreases in crime and unemployment, Corona remains an anomaly, with an increasing crime rate and large demographic of underserved communities, many of whom have limited English language proficiency.

Given the need to address some of these challenges as well as making the most of its rich and varied cultural assets, the Queens Museum of Art (QMA) has spearheaded the Corazón de Corona/Heart of Corona initiative which aims to improve the health of residents, and to activate and beautify Corona’s public space, thereby creating a better climate for residents and businesses alike. The initiative includes several projects, including Beautification and Clean-Up, a Healthy Taste of Corona Cookbook, and a series of street celebrations and public art projects spearheaded by working groups that are collaborations among community-based organizations, health institutions, elected officials, and local businesses. Through the Heart of Corona initiative, the Museum is a stakeholder in the revitalization of its surrounding community. Our sustained programming aims to beautify the space and populate it through a series of art projects attracting both local residents and cultural tourists. We feel that focusing efforts in this neighborhood over a period of time will be a major contributing factor in creating a center for community engagement and positive community change. We hope to provide better services for the residents as well as to create a cultural hub for the community which will lead to increased cultural tourism, pride of place, and a safe space for cross-cultural interaction and problem-solving.

Clean Up & Beautification

QMA’s community organizer put together a committee of volunteers from local community organizations and the NYC Department of Parks, for ongoing clean-up and greening activities in and around Corona Plaza. These activities include two large-scale events to coincide with It’s My Park Days, as well as ongoing plant maintenance throughout the summer. The biannual events attracted several hundred volunteers who cleaned the plaza, planted flowers and trees, painted fences, providing local residents with a sense of ownership over the oft-neglected area. Many local businesses supported these efforts through in-kind contributions and donations including Western Union and Home Depot. The events were also an opportunity for local residents to meet with elected officials to communicate with them their wishes for changes to the physical environment.

Corona Plaza: Center of Everywhere

In both 2007 and 2009, the Queens Museum of Art commissioned four temporary, site-specifc artworks in Corona Plaza (103rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue), just a few blocks away from the Museum’s home in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. These artworks are part of a larger Heart of Corona initiative in which the Museum and community members partners work together to improve the health of community residents, beautify the neighborhood, and activate the public spaces in the area. Participating artists have included Shaun El C Leonardo, Xavieria Simmons, Hector Canonge, Stephanie Diamond in the first year, and Mike Estabrook, Lin+Lam, Miguel Luciano, and vydavy sindikat in the second year. The success of these projects have inspired other artists to propose and implement other socially engaged projects such as visiting German Artist Silke Kastner’s Marigold Project.

The Adventures of La Coronita from Queens Museum of Art on Vimeo.

Corona Cares Day Street Celebrations

QMA and its partners have organized three street celebrations per year in Corona Plaza that combine art, entertainment, health, and social services into one package. They offer free health evaluations, opportunities to sign up for free and low cost health plans and food stamps, to immigration, financial, education and legal services, along with live music and dance performances, and art workshops for families. Performers have included: Charlie Cajares y su Orquesta, who blends the Colombian folkloric rhythms with jazz improvisation; Xavier y Bajando Fino who have infused bachata, merengue and hip -hop for a unique sound; Los Pleneros de la 21, a celebrated Puerto Rican bomba and plena ensemble, Latin Jazz impresario Pablo Mayor, and Curacao-based vocalist Izaline Calister. These well-known acts were interspersed with local Mexican, Colombian, Peruvian, and Ecuadorian folkloric dance troupes, spoken word artists, and singers, many of whom use QMA space for classes and rehearsals. These local troupes include Pachamama Peruvian Dance, Ballet Folklorico Telpochtli y Nueva Juventud de Mexicanos Unidos de Queens, and poetry and hip hop sets by Fusion Atomica. The events are often hosted by Corona resident and CEO of Que TV Entertainment, Nelson “Calle” Cardona, with significant coverage in local an ethnic press. The popular events attracting several thousand attendees celebrate the richness and diversity of Corona residents as well as offer sites of engagement between local residents and commissioned public artists.

Healthy Taste of Corona Cookbook

The full-color, bi-lingual, 150-page cookbook features recipes for much of the tasty fare found in Corona with recipes contributed by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Mets General Manager Omar Minaya, and more than 30 favorite local officials, community leaders and restaurateurs. Addressing the high rate of heart disease and diabetes in the local community, recipes have been slightly modified by and Elmhurst Hospital nutritionist resulting in recipes that are very pleasing to both the palate and the body. It showcases traditional foods from a variety of countries reflecting the diversity of cultures in the neighborhood. The process of the book involved a community photography and oral history project, creating a neighborhood portrait that residents could be proud to share with all New Yorkers. The cookbooks and accompanying flyer featuring discounts from participating restaurants are being distributed free of charge at local sites, at the museum, through our health partners, and local Community Based organizations are using it in conjunction with healthy eating workshops and potlucks. The book has helped put Corona on the culinary map of New York, while becoming a cornerstone in our local heart health educational campaign.