The interlocking neighbourhoods — Corona, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst and Woodside — are home to a high concentration of people in the US illegally who have been ineligible for government aid such as stimulus checks and unemployment insurance. Sonia Izurraga’s salon, Peruvian Connection, is up and running in its tiny storefront in Jackson Heights. Restaurants that served free meals during the pandemic, such as Mojitos, in Jackson Heights, have similarly seen grateful customers return. In Little Bangladesh, in Jackson Heights, halal butchers, grocers and dress shops selling silk saris have long relied on people driving in from outside the area to stock up on items. Shops and restaurants have also faced competition from the proliferating street vendors.

Source: bd News24 July 02, 2021 08:03 UTC