Queens 2016

I've long wanted to stay in Queens, with its preponderance of ethnicities and the restaurant scene that follows, so when my usual Harlem apartment wasn't available on short  notice, I was happy to grab a basement apartment in Corona, way out near Forest Hills and CitiField.  With a  10 minute walk to the subway, it's a 40 minute trip into Manhattan, but my particular area of Corona has the village charm that makes it seem a  world away.

My particular neighborhood has been referred to as the melting pot of NYC, and that's saying a lot.   Within minutes of my place are great Italian (the neighborhood was heavily Italian 100 years ago), Peruvian, Dominican, Caribbean, Mexican, Ecuadorian and Colombian restaurants.   I  probably missed a few ethnicities.   This is a serious working class neighborhood with everyone chasing the American dream.  And such a friendly place, too, with an extremely low crime rate.  There are public parks with various food vendors that  resemble Mexican zocalos and weekends often feature impromptu jam sessions.

Perhaps the most famous local resident was Louis Armstrong, who lived here from 1943 until his death in the 1970s.  His home is a perfectly preserved National Historic site.

Although it's a 30 minute subway ride into Manhattan, traveling three quick stops in one direction lands one in a  bustling Chinatown and two stops the other way puts one into Little India. I could make the argument to spend a month here without the necessity of even crossing the East River into Manhattan.

Is there a drawback to this little paradise in the shadow of the greatest city in the world?  Unfortunately, yes.  As more and more are getting priced out of Manhattan and close in Queens, real estate prices are skyrocketing in Corona and the median sales price is approaching  $600,000, with tiny ground floor studio apartments selling in the  $150000 range, making it a lot tougher to chase the dream of  home ownership.