Andres Guerrero

Corona Plaza, one of the only of its kind in New York City’s Queens borough, is home to nearly 90 street vendors who offer a variety of home-style dishes and drinks from all across Latin America. When job loss swept through the city during the pandemic, some Corona residents set up vending stands to make a living, but not all vendors obtained the proper vending permits. Now, authority crackdowns and continued police presence have made it difficult for vendors like Friolan Garcia and Ismael Carvajal to operate their stands.