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I always find it funny that these places and choices are decided by transplants and not actual long time NYers. I don’t really care what these choices are since they are usually the most overrated. Williamsburg is one of the worst areas to live even today. Traffic patterns there makes zero sense, limited subway lines. Same goes for Ridgewood. Not the best place, I can think of 10 better places easily but it’s best to keep transplants away from those cooler places anyways,
So true. As a life long Queens native of 50 years, I've probably stepped in Ridgewood once, twice at the most. Zero reason to go there, in any decade.
Just like Williamsburg/GP/Astoria before it, transient white liberals from the midwest seem to decide what is cool in NYC. Let's face it, in 2022 there is nothing cool in NYC. Coolness left NYC after the 90s.
^^^I live in the Midwest and I was planning a trip to better explore neighborhoods in the Bronx to decide if they’re cool. Should I not? I thought Mott Haven was cool in 2014
This list felt ridiculous. All they had to do was give it a more accurate title, like “Various Neighborhoods That Were Considered Up and Coming Six Years Ago if You Like the Arts”
How did Crown Heights not become what Ridgewood is now ?
So true. As a life long Queens native of 50 years, I've probably stepped in Ridgewood once, twice at the most. Zero reason to go there, in any decade.
Just like Williamsburg/GP/Astoria before it, transient white liberals from the midwest seem to decide what is cool in NYC. Let's face it, in 2022 there is nothing cool in NYC. Coolness left NYC after the 90s.
Most of these people have Columbus syndrome because they lead boring, family-less lives stuck with roommates into their 30s.
So true. As a life long Queens native of 50 years, I've probably stepped in Ridgewood once, twice at the most. Zero reason to go there, in any decade.
Just like Williamsburg/GP/Astoria before it, transient white liberals from the midwest seem to decide what is cool in NYC. Let's face it, in 2022 there is nothing cool in NYC. Coolness left NYC after the 90s.
Didn't you live in your mother's house with no family of your own until she somewhat recently passed away and your big hope in life now is to sell her house to well-off Chinese immigrants? Or was that someone else that just seemed similar and it's hard to distinguish because of the chain of banned accounts and new usernames?
Regardless, not too sure there's going to be anyone turning to you for what's cool. Not now, and let's face it, possibly not even in the 90s. If you haven't stepped foot in Ridgewood in a long while, then it's reasonable to assume you don't much know what it's like these days.
It's also kind of funny the idea that there's such a critical mass of well-heeled and influential white people from the Midwest in NYC. Sure, they exist to some degree, but it's not that many. What's more, they have relatively little influence. I know the people who own Bar Freda and I know the people who own the Knockdown Center, and both sets of people are from around here. That's actually not too uncommon since if you want to do something interesting, it also might be a bit risky so if your family already owns the property, then you get a bit more leeway to screw around and sometimes that ends up being pretty successful. I don't see that as either much of a positive or negative, but good on them for learning how to leverage what they know of the city and their connections and base they have to turn such into successful businesses. Most of the transplants are from the Northeast, especially heavy on the Tri-State Area, and a lot of them are kids or grandkids of people who lived in NYC. I think the only non-Northeast Corridor state with a large presence in NYC are those from Florida (and to a lesser extent, California, like me) and that's got a pretty decent chance of also having ties to the city.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 10-12-2022 at 08:00 AM..
I always find it funny that these places and choices are decided by transplants and not actual long time NYers. I don’t really care what these choices are since they are usually the most overrated. Williamsburg is one of the worst areas to live even today. Traffic patterns there makes zero sense, limited subway lines. Same goes for Ridgewood. Not the best place, I can think of 10 better places easily but it’s best to keep transplants away from those cooler places anyways,
You nailed it MKTet
I was born and raised in Ridgewood which gives me a reference point of then and now.
People can say it's cool......great......etc........ their opinion.
I'll tell you the place is a dump if comparing today to 70-100 years ago. Ask any old Ridgewoodite still alive..
Buildings were 70-100 years younger, cleaner; people swept their sidewalks, streets and cleaned their windows.
Evil eye to the person who had a broken shade or sloppily dressed on Sunday.
Parents and children in tow holding hands.
Even up into the 80's one Ridgewood street was voted cleanest and prettiest block in all of N.Y.C. city.
Big drop in quality of Life when comparing but understandably meaningless to those who are visiting Ridgewood
for the first time unless comparing it to current impoverished neighborhoods. Think they've died and gone to heaven.....
......Ride up and down Metro,Myrtle, Freshpond.......main avenues and see the graffiti sprawled.
Some call it art..............
Parking always sucked even back in the day......................So any car owner would give this nabe a thumbs down.
Litter and decaying matter ,ooozing liquids that have clogged some corner sewers......careful where you step.
Many property owners do not live in Ridgewood , only collect rent.........it has always been a transient neighborhood.
Ridgewood historic preservation was enacted many years ago to help retain the original appeal but ..........archies
seem to have found ways around laws and hi rises are shooting up. Check down off Wycoff...................imagine that.
Bright side?
People are nice, young home owners trying to better themselves. Lots of renters......many nice, some not so.
Mostly liberal minded folks and young professionals far removed from the Conservatives that once dominated.
Some of the old 6 family row homes still carry some charm. Many bars leftover from prohibition days.
Ridgewood once boasted as the most bars in the Guinness Book of World Records
CBS calling Ridgewood #4 pick as one of the coolest?
Matter of taste.
Some savor the difference between Remy Martin X.O vs. Hennessy Cognac as opposed to...........homemade hooch.
I hope that some can capture the magic of this once great neighborhood which I enjoyed for many generations.
Which is all but a memory ...................The rest ? It's all up to you daydreamers.............
Best Wishes.
Stick with the Cognac..........
Last edited by Mr.Retired; 10-12-2022 at 07:18 PM..
^^^I live in the Midwest and I was planning a trip to better explore neighborhoods in the Bronx to decide if they’re cool. Should I not? I thought Mott Haven was cool in 2014
This list felt ridiculous. All they had to do was give it a more accurate title, like “Various Neighborhoods That Were Considered Up and Coming Six Years Ago if You Like the Arts”
How did Crown Heights not become what Ridgewood is now ?
Easy answer.
Investments..
As older people retire ..........prospectors move in to buy out cash money.
The old folks are thinking their making a killing with a few hundred thousands.
The investors, with ties to .......ahem......will dump money and build a hi rise
in it's place selling it for millions.....Rinse repeat.
When someone comes knocking on your door and all your neighbor's doors offering cash money ?
Early signs that the neighborhood is next in line for gentrification.
Last edited by Mr.Retired; 10-12-2022 at 07:18 PM..
So true. As a life long Queens native of 50 years, I've probably stepped in Ridgewood once, twice at the most. Zero reason to go there, in any decade.
Just like Williamsburg/GP/Astoria before it, transient white liberals from the midwest seem to decide what is cool in NYC. Let's face it, in 2022 there is nothing cool in NYC. Coolness left NYC after the 90s.
What’s sad is that Ridgewood is just a blue collar town where a lot of immigrants moved to because it was affordable compared to most of Queens and Brooklyn. It was unwanted by most NYers because who wants to see and live near cemetery. This is what I find repulsive or cringy is that so many transplants live around cemeteries around NYC. The places most NYers would not want to be around.
Anytime a town is getting buzz, I know it’s the developers that are pushing it because they were the ones buying up the cheap land and putting in big apts and attracting businesses there. But I’m not gonna fall for that because the geography of Ridgewood and Williamsburg area is not the best.
So I get the hype but calling Ridgewood like the top 4th place in the world is like dissing great cities like Tokyo, Shanghai, Miami, etc. Because those places are no longer marketable or have any new development.
I used to live in LIC and I think that place was great until it got over hyped and become another transplant Mecca. Transplants destroy the livelihood of neighborhoods, soon the pot smoke, noise, and craziness pollutes the neighborhood.
BTW its the developers who are pushing the locals out. These developers are building properties and listing skyrocket rents appealing to who? Many people here hate on the transplants when they should be angry with the developers.
Got to your community board meetings and speak out, gather and protest.
but of course that ^ wont happen.
More complaining and hating and anger to the wrong people. Letting the cycle continue . Such an interesting phenomenon to watch happen over and over and over again
As older people retire ..........prospectors move in to buy out cash money.
The old folks are thinking their making a killing with a few hundred thousands.
The investors, with ties to .......ahem......will dump money and build a hi rise
in it's place selling it for millions.....Rinse repeat.
When someone comes knocking on your door and all your neighbor's doors offering cash money ?
Early signs that the neighborhood is next in line for gentrification.
It’s ridiculous that these transplants are being herded by these media companies to neighborhood that advertises best in the world is simply selling them a mini disneyworld. Ridgewood was mostly immigrant and now being gentrified because of the media sold it as top 5 in the world?
They list should instead say “Top 5 neighborhoods that are profitable for developers.”
I only read TimeOut for the classifieds so, I never bothered with their articles.
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You nailed it MKTet
