Goodbye, Ridgewood. 

Ridgewood has been home to one of our two offices for over seven years, but the time has come to part with this quaint part of New York City. And in homage to this Queens neighborhood that feels more like a little village, here are the bits we’ll miss the most.

Ridgewood contains thirteen national historic districts, including the Stockholm-Dekalb-Hart Historic District, where our office was located. Ridgewood was mostly shaped in the 1910s and 20s at the hands of German and Italian immigrants. Most of the houses are still intact from that era. We love the exposed brick row houses of this neighborhood. We’ll especially miss Stockholm Street, the only brick-paved street left in Queens! It’s also known as the Yellow Brick Road.

The Roman Catholic Church of St. Aloysius. Ridgewood is home to a ton of beautiful churches, which add to the old Europe feel that pervades the neighborhood.

Who could resist the charm of the Vander-Ende Onderdonk House, an old Dutch farmhouse, circa 1709? It’s a nice surprise in a sea of industrial warehouses.

The border between Queens and Brooklyn has changed a few times, and each time Ridgewood has ended up in disputed territory. The Vander-Ende Onderdonk House became the boundary line in 1769. After the Great Blackout of 1977, Brooklyn lost Ridgewood.

Getting to the office by subway (the L or the M) could sometimes be dicey, especially after last year’s tornado and snowstorm, but the trusty B38 could always be counted on.

Other things we’ll miss:

1. Bravo, an adorable Ecuadorean café with everything from coffee to Thai food
2. Cute decorations that adorn the fronts of homes. Christmas is an especially  colorful time
3. Clotheslines and school buses
4. Stockholm Street’s southern ambience
5. Rows and rows of garages
6. The Manhattan skyline as seen from Seneca Avenue.

We’ll leave you with another gem: people reminiscing about growing up in Ridgewood. The Candy stores sound like a child’s dream.

Ridgewood, it’s been real!

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