You are reading

Local Business Organization Secures $600,000 Grant to Revitalize Roosevelt Avenue in Corona

Corona Plaza at 103rd St. and Roosevelt Ave. underwent a major revamp in 2018 (Photo: Queens Post)

Dec. 2, 2020 By Michael Dorgan 

The Queens Economic Development Corporation has been awarded a $600,000 grant to help revitalize and develop small businesses along Roosevelt Avenue in Corona.

The non-profit announced Monday that it received funding from the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) to support businesses and vendors along Roosevelt Avenue between Junction Boulevard and 114th Street.

The QEDC will provide technical assistance to local merchants over the next three years in order to help businesses adapt to changes in the economy.

Training webinars, counseling and business assistance for new entrepreneurs will be provided along with COVID-19 related resources.

The grant will also be used to make the corridor more inviting for residents and tourists, thereby promoting commerce in the area.

SBS Commissioner Jonnel Doris said the grant comes at a time when communities of color have been hard-hit by the COVID-19 economic crisis. Corona is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City.

“COVID-19 has had devastating effects on our Black, Asian, and Latinx communities and it is important we deliver the resources they need to recover,” Doris said. “These initiatives will help revitalize our commercial corridors and bring them back stronger than ever.”

The QECD has hired Sam Massol to oversee the initiative. (Image, QEDC)

The grant is part of the city’s “Neighborhood 360°” plan that aims to make commercial districts across the five boroughs more appealing. The initiative also helps local business owners upgrade their storefronts by offering funds for signs, awnings and lights.

The QECD has hired Sam Massol to oversee the Corona program.

Massol, who founded the non-profits Astoria Green and BridgeRoot, will analyze the various businesses along the corridor and then develop a revitalization plan to help merchants.

The QEDC has also hired Latin Women In Action and the Street Vendor Project as sub-contractors to help redecorate the area and help local workers.

Latin Women In Action, a non-profit group, will carry out cleanliness and beautification programs while the Street Vendor Project, which represents thousands of vendors across the city, will be tasked with helping vendors develop business skills.

QEDC said that this may lead to vendors opening brick-and-mortar stores in the future.

The Street Vendor Project also plans to carry out a placemaking campaign to create quality and attractive spaces for vendors to operate.

Correction Dec. 3, 2020: A previous version of this article listed the awarded grant as $4 miliion. That was reported in error. The correct amount grant QEDC was awarded is $600,000.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Unlicensed but essential: Street vendors seek reform amid enforcement fears

Jun. 23, 2025 By Jimmy Robles

Many street vendors in New York City face significant challenges from the moment they set up their stands, striving to make an honest living. With more than 20,000 food vendors operating across the five boroughs, an estimated 75% do so without a license or permit, due in large part to the city’s decades-old cap on available permits.

Repeat hate crime offender charged in anti-Muslim subway attack in Forest Hills: DA

A Southeast Queens man is being held without bail after he was criminally charged with assault in the first degree as a hate crime and other charges for allegedly punching and kicking a Muslim woman on an E train in Forest Hills during the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 18.

Naved Durrni, 34, of 106th Avenue in Jamaica, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Thursday and additionally charged with aggravated harassment in the first and second degrees.

Hate Crimes Task Force investigating bomb threats against Mamdani: NYPD

The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force launched a probe into multiple death threats made against Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani after his district office at 24-08 32nd St. in Astoria received four expletive-filled phone voicemails, on various dates, making threatening anti-Muslim statements by an unknown individual, including a threat to blow up his car.

The calls were made from an untraceable number and labeled the mayoral candidate a “terrorist who is not welcome in New York or America” in a message phoned in on Wednesday morning.

Seven teens indicted for attempted murder in brutal Kissena Park gang attack on two girls: DA

A Queens grand jury indicted seven teenagers for attempted murder, gang assault, robbery, and other crimes for an attack on two girls inside Kissena Park in Flushing in early May.

The defendants, who are all 17 years old, were variously arraigned in Queens Supreme Court between June 4 and Wednesday in two separate 25-count indictments with two counts of attempted murder in the second degree. If convicted, they face up to 25 years in prison.