About Ridgewood

Ridgewood is a vibrant and culturally diverse neighborhood of western Queens. It’s borders north on Metropolitan Ave, east on LIRR tracks, south on Central Ave, and west on Flushing Ave. It is easily accessible by train on the M and L subway lines. Its major commercial areas are Fresh Pond Road and Myrtle Ave. It one of the largest historic districts in the United States with 2,982 landmarked buildings. The architecture and historic homes are worth a visit! Parts of Ridgewood look as it did ninety years ago with early 20th century row-housing. Today, Ridgewood is an ethnically diverse community of Polish, Romanian, Slovak, German, Italian, Asian, and Latino residents.    

Ridgewood was settled by Mespachtes Indians. It was later settled and farmed by the Dutch in 1600s and 1700s. Originally named by the British Ridgewood in the early 1700s and renamed in the 1880s Evergreen because another community in Long Island claimed the name. Ridgewood reclaimed its name when it joined New York City in 1898.  Ridgewood boomed with housing in the early 1900s right before WWI. After WWII, Ridgewood experienced a migration of Italian, German, and eastern European families into the neighborhood. As North Brooklyn gentrified, Polish people moved into Ridgewood as well.