Ridgewood

Ridgewood has been part of Brooklyn, Queens, and both boroughs during its history of shifting borders. Now solidly allied with Queens, the neighborhood has some distinctive characteristics that set it apart. For one thing, the predominance of high density brick apartment buildings in every shade of pink, red, orange, and brown. If you need a little breathing space, the Ridgewood Reservoir on the southern end of the neighborhood has been reclaimed by nature and is inhabited by various birds and other animals – and there are plans to develop it into an outdoor recreation area. L & M local train service is not the speediest commute to Manhattan, but has protected the neighborhood from out-of-control development that’s happening everywhere else. In fact, Ridgewood’s buildings have changed very little in the last century. Today the area is mostly populated by Eastern and Western European immigrants, but young artists and professionals are spilling over from Bushwick into the southwestern part of the neighborhood. Not surprisingly, most of the residential real estate listings are for single apartments or entire apartment buildings. The median real sales price is $600K – with apartments costing much less and entire buildings much more. For renters, the median price for a studio is $1100/mo and $1200/mo for 1Br’s. Ridgewood is a particularly good neighborhood for investing in a small apartment building.