Scaled-down Corona Plaza vendor market in Queens struggles after reopening

Street vendor Liliana Sanchez said she sells half as many aguas frescas since a scaled-down version of the Corona Plaza market reopened in Queens in November.

Fellow vendor Aquilina Muñoz said the same of her tacos and quesadillas sales, and Rosario Troncoso said she goes without selling a single wallet — or any other wares — on some days.

Other vendors in the once bustling market report similarly grim sales that are reflective of a noticeable drop in foot traffic. That’s under a new first-of-its-kind city deal that allows otherwise unauthorized vendors to operate legally in the plaza — in a smaller, more regulated market.

While neighbors say the market is cleaner, more orderly, and generates fewer complaints – which prompted last year’s shutdown — vendors say the trade off has been less revenue and excitement for a former dining destination.

Vendor advocates say the new setup isn’t financially sustainable for vendors or the nonprofit organization managing the market, the Queens Economic Development Corporation. They’re calling for more stalls, longer hours, and financial help from City Hall.

“We can’t lose this market, which we fought for,” said Troncoso, who is also the president of the Asociación de Vendors Ambulantes de Corona Plaza — or the Association of Street Vendors of Corona Plaza. “We want to be an example for the city, the government — to see that this can work.”

But the city shut down the market after complaints about congested sidewalks and excessive tracks. Although it had more than 80 vendors during its peak, many have not returned due to new constraints on vending. Now, only 38 vendors remain, according to Troncoso. Many of them are women and Latino immigrants who live in Corona.

Before the “old” market was disbanded, the New York Times and viral TikTok stars hailed it as one of the city's top eateries. Its future could have consequences for the city's 20,000-plus street vendors, who mostly operate illegally and without one of the city's permits and licenses, whose supply is limited.

The Adams administration has touted the Corona Plaza deal as a potential model for other neighborhoods. Police and sanitation officers have cracked down on unauthorized vendors elsewhere in the city, such as on Fordham Road in the Bronx and Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn.

Hundreds of vendors plan to march to City Hall on Thursday morning to demand the City Council pass systemic reforms, including a bill to lift caps on the number of vendors allowed to legally operate in the city.

Spokespeople for Mayor Eric Adams did not respond to a request for comment.

Vincent Barone, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, said in a statement, "The community vending area has allowed all who have visited the space to celebrate what’s best about street vending ensuring the space remains safe, clean and vibrant."

He added that the city "will consider any improvements as needed as part of our long-term concession agreement for the plaza.”

Barone said the DOT installed a large trash bin on the plaza and provided QEDC $40,000 to aid with plaza management and operations in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. That was before the agency's short-term agreement with QEDC to manage the plaza began in November.

Sales slashed for vendors

The market exploded in popularity during the pandemic, boasting over 80 stalls, some opened as early as 7 a.m. and as late as 2 a.m. daily.

Under the new rules, only 14 stalls are allowed at a time when the market’s open, from Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. But vendors often have to start cleaning up around 7 p.m. to leave in time for the curfew.

“Many people left because it wasn’t worth it for them,” said Troncoso. “Some weeks, they didn’t get a turn to work — not even a day.”

Those who remain say they’re missing vital foot traffic in the early morning and late at night, when locals in the largely working-class Latino neighborhood would grab a quick meal before or after work.

Vendors and their advocates are calling for longer hours and more stalls; Bornstein wants at least double, 30 to 35, at a time. Some 1,000 clients and vendors have also recently signed a paper petition outlining those demands.

Even with the drop in sales, some like Sanchez and Muñoz say that the chance to operate in the plaza legally and without fear of being ticketed by police or having their carts confiscated is worth it.

Many of the vendors lack one of the limited and highly coveted local permits and licenses to legally operate elsewhere. Just a few thousand exist for the city's estimated 20,000-plus vendors.

Neighbor complaints: ‘It’s night and day’

New York City sanitation police shut down Corona Plaza's bustling street vendor market in late July 2023, citing ongoing complaints about blocked sidewalks, “dirty conditions,” and “illegal vending” that took place too close to storefronts. Vendors without required permits and licenses were told to leave.

The neighbors’ concerns have since subsided, according to Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, a strong advocate for vendors.

Staff with the mayor's office recently surveyed neighbors around the plaza, including businesses that had complained about the vendors, he said.

“Guess what came back?” Richards said. “Everything is great. They’re like, ‘It’s night and day.’”

Before the crackdown, neighborhood resident Jefferson Perez, 27, said trash would pile up and oil would splatter the sidewalk, and it was difficult to walk through the crowds. But since the market reopened, he hasn’t seen any of those problems.

Perez said he doesn’t mind if the vendors add more stalls or extend their hours as long as they continue to clean up their trash and walking through the plaza remains easy.

“This area has a lot of public traffic, so there’s no concern about (noise),” Perez said. “It’s going to be noisy all the time because of the trains, people walking down the street.”

Misinformation and misconceptions about the vendors continue to circulate. Some workers at nearby stores claimed in interviews that the vendors don't pay taxes, although most vendors in the plaza have state tax certifications prominently displayed in their stalls. Other neighbors weren’t aware that vendors in the plaza, unlike others nearby, have a separate association and manager for oversight of the health code and other city rules.

And safety concerns remain. Drunken brawls have erupted in the plaza, Troncoso said. One day in March, when she tried to intervene, she said an attacker entered her stall and hit her. So vendors would like additional security, particularly on the weekend, she said.

A spokesperson for Councilmember Francisco Moya, who represents the area and backed the city’s sweep of the market, did not respond to a request for comment.

What does the future hold?

Bornstein, of the Queens Economic Development Corporation, said it’s important that the city extend the vendors’ hours, increase the number of stalls, and contribute money to help manage the plaza. He said he’d be satisfied with $150,000 per year, about 60% of the current costs.

The city requires on-site managers, whose salaries and benefits make up the majority of the costs, in addition to insurance and other fees. The managers help vendors set up, ensure they follow the rules, and address any disputes and concerns that arise.

Vendors are not charged any fees to operate in the plaza, with the exception of food vendors in order to use a shared commissary kitchen. Managing the plaza isn’t a profitable enterprise, as may be the case in higher-priced markets in wealthier neighborhoods, Bornstein says.

The organization was awarded a three-year city contract to run the plaza, “pending negotiation” with the city, he said. And while he said he’s “committed” to helping the vendor market, Bornstein added that he won’t sign the follow-up contract unless the city helps fund the management of the plaza — which could leave the market's future in limbo.

“The mayor goes around saying it's a model program, and I love that,” Bornstein said. “But show me the money to keep it a model program.”

Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, deputy director of the Street Vending Project — the nonprofit advocacy group organizing the Thursday march on City Hall — said it’s still necessary for the city to ensure vendors can access permits and licenses to be able to work legally.

The Corona Plaza deal is just “one of the tools in a larger toolkit for street vending reform that needs to happen,” she said.