What Flushing NYC Looks like During the Covid-19 Pandemic

FLUSHING, NYC
In The Wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic

I’m a Flushing resident. Lived here for the past 8 years and have been coming to Flushing since I was a little kid. My parents went to Flushing everyday (and they still did- before quarantine) when I was young and I spent all my childhood hanging out on these streets with friends. Now I live here with my husband and my cat.

Flushing has ALWAYS been extremely crowded— especially during the summertime. Sometimes it’s Shinjuku-level. So crowded to the point that recently they doubled the size of the sidewalks - but even after doing that- it’s STILL SUPER CROWDED. You can say it’s a bustling hub- tons of restaurants, asian supermarkets, TONS of bubble tea & boba shops, LOTS of food courts, community centers, religious institutions, day cares, prep schools, banks, bajillion pharmacies… you name it - Flushing has it.

In the wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the landscape of Flushing has changed drastically and it’s honestly a little eerie. I went out recently (to pick up essential items)... and it was NOTHING like it's former self.  Just a ghost of a town.  No one walking around, storefronts boarded up, restaurants all closed, empty buses, no one even waiting on line for buses! A splatter of people waiting on line to get into Duane Reade with a NYPD bouncer at the door to make sure people stay in check. Bullet holes at the glass counter of Coco (Bubble tea shop on Main St/Roosevelt). I have never felt unsafe in Flushing in the past- even while walking around at midnight or 1am on Main street… but these days, just walking around at 3-4pm in the afternoon on certain streets, there was something unnerving about it. I had never seen Flushing like this, nor would have ever believed Flushing could be like this. So I decided to document it.  To document a little glimpse of what our beloved little city looks like during the midst of this Pandemic. 

I wanted to see how a Sunday afternoon (4/19/20) would look like. Usually Sundays are HIGH PEAK. It’s generally one of the busiest times in Flushing; everyone and everyone’s family is out dim-summing, buying groceries, coming out of religious meetings, meeting up with friends, going to work, going somewhere, getting on the 7 train…. e v e r y thing.

But this Sunday looked extremely different. Here are some of my views from my neighborhood walk:

A few things I noticed:

-Most of the people out were MTA workers - so thank you to all you guys still working out there!
-Everyone is now wearing masks (even all the MTA workers, which is a change since a couple of weeks ago people were still not wearing masks!) Unfortunately I did pass by the fire station and none of the fire fighters were wearing masks…
-Most of the businesses that are still open are having people line up to go in (IE: Duane Reade and their NYPD bouncer at the door and the corner bodega)
-There are a lot more homeless people than before :(
-Empty parking lots, but a lot more parked ambulance cars
-TIGER SUGAR still has a FREAKING LINE of people ordering Bubble tea -_____-
-LUCIA’S PIZZA is still open and they’re amazing. Definitely most of the MTA guys are heading there for their lunch!
-There are a lot of people in cars driving to spots to pick up food
-All the Chinese Supermarkets are CLOSED (this is crazy because most asian people N E V E R close ….even during holidays- so you know this virus is SERIOUS)
-Most bakeries are also closed. The only ones open are Dunkin Donuts, Tous Les Jour, Fay Da and on the weekdays Canaan Bakery (which I think is great because most of the essential workers still need their coffee and bread!)
-A few businesses have it up that they will reopen on July 1, 2020. We’ll see…
-THANKFUL that there is NOT that much litter on the floor! Just only saw 1 discarded face mask!

In conclusion, I hope this gave you guys some insight on how Flushing looks like today. I hope you guys will continue to practice safe measures and #stayhome until we have the upper hand on this virus. Praying that you all will stay safe out there and when this is all over, let's all meet back up in Flushing and make it the once bustling city that it has always been. <3 

PPS: I practiced proper social distancing and wore a face mask throughout the documentation of all images. Thank you for reading!