Corona Landmarks Get A Mayoral Visit

"Can I help you, Miss?" asked a solicitous voice from inside the Lemon Ice King of Corona store.
Her choices of flavors were plentiful: pineapple, raspberry, fruit cocktail and cantaloupe, to name just a few.
"Lemon," replied the woman, dressed in her usual couture: a pastel suit with flourishes of pink.
Leaning forward, tiptoes on the sidewalk, she peeked inside the ordering window as the man ably scooped a serving of the piquant perennial favorite into a paper cup.
As he handed her the cool treat, the mans sleeve revealed the end of a navy blue suit, hinting at his importance as not just the king of Corona but also the city.
The stand-in worker was Mayor Michael Bloomberg. And the customer was Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, escorting Hizzoner as he idled away an hour on Monday in between a morning appearance at the grand opening of a Jamaica branch of the Carver Federal Savings Bank and an afternoon visit to the Mets opening game at home.
He was touring 108th Street and 52nd Avenue, greeting storeowners and mugging with residents for the cameras.
Despite some new shops the mayor stopped to congratulate the proprietor of Il Forno Corona Pizza on his recent grand opening the neighborhoods character has stayed intact since Italian immigrants first populated the area more than six decades ago.
Though the demographics have shifted, with Hispanics becoming a substantial part of the mix, the community continues to be a home for immigrants to set down roots.
Landmarks remain largely unchanged. Old timers still mill about Flanders Field Post 150, the communitys local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. And, though it has incorporated and gained citywide fame, Lemon Ice King of Corona, 60 years in the community, has not expanded its menu, sticking to its one specialty: ices.
"We are still just working people. Thats all we are," insists Peter Befaremo, one of the stores founders and chairman of the board.
Even the music in the air seems stuck in another time. Fifties doo-wop percolates from speakers at a manicured triangular park off of 108th, where a staple of Italian leisure, the bocce court, resides. With its wooden benches and room for barbecuing, the small park is a popular gathering spot for residents.
Previous mayors have stopped to admire the bocce playing, said Ralph Minichino, one of the parks volunteers who helps maintain its grounds and clay court. But, he added, they didnt stay long.
"The other mayors came here; they shot one ball, two balls, and ran away," he said.
Bloomberg was different, he noted. "He stood there, and he played."
Yes, he made a game of it. Without as much as a flinch, at the crowds urging, the billionaire media mogul doffed his coat, stepped onto the court and cast the baleen, a small ball that competitors aim for and try to get their bocces near. He played four rounds and gained some respect while doing so.
Tommy Russo, a veteran of the game who competed against the mayor, was impressed by his rolls and his ability to adjust to the lie of the court (winter had made the ground uneven). Bloomberg also demonstrated a bit of strategy, caroming his bocces into his opponents, keeping the baleen closer to his own.
"For a first timer, he was pretty good," Russo said.