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The Village Voice Close-Up
On: Sunset Park, Brooklyn Straddling
southwest Brooklyn's Gowanus Expressway, Sunset Park serves as a working-class
bridge between old-school Bay Ridge and white-collar Park Slope. Home
to a bustling Chinatown, a booming Mexican community, and a growing number
of out-priced brownstone-seekers, this quintessential melting pot was
originally settled by Irish immigrants escaping famine. Poles and Scandinavians
followed, and were succeeded by Chinese and Puerto Ricans, with lesser
numbers from Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Jordan, and Vietnam. Thus, you'll
catch glimpses of the odd kielbasa purveyor or halal butcher between omnipresent
Spanish signage. In the summer, when many residents live out in the open,
block parties, mariachi music, shaved ice, and pastel-hued cotton candy
color the neighborhood. Boundaries: Prospect Expressway to the north,
65th Street to the south, Upper New York Bay to the west, Eighth Avenue
to the east
Main Drags: Fifth Avenue is the main business street.
Eighth Avenue is home to the city's "third Chinatown."
Mass Transit: A 30-minute ride on the W or N train
to 36th Street from Union Square; transfer to the R train one stop to
45th Street. Stay on the N until Eighth Avenue for Chinatown. A free 15-minute
ferry runs Monday through Friday during rush hours between Whitehall terminal
and the 58th Street Pier.
Average Rents: Prices vary wildly, with renovated
spaces commanding higher rents. Studio $750, one-bedroom $850 to $1400,
two-bedroom $1200 to $2000.
Average Price to Buy: Two-family homes start at
around $300,000 and can reach $550,000 for pristine brownstones near Sunset
Park.
Cultural Institutions: Housed in a former police
station and stable, the Sunset Park School of Music, 4520 Fourth Avenue,
offers instrument, vocal, and music-theory lessons for all ages and skill
levels.
Landmarks: Built as a utopian resting place in
1838, 478-acre Green-Wood Cemetery, with its main entrance at 500 25th
Street, is still a heavenly sight. Permanent residents include artist
Jean-Michel Basquiat, composer Leonard Bernstein, birth-control crusader
Margaret Sanger, dancer Lola Montez, and actress Mae West. The park from
which the neighborhood takes its name—bounded by Fifth and Seventh avenues
and 44th and 41st streets—is located on Brooklyn's highest point, affording
memorable Manhattan views. The Metropolitan Detention Center, 80 29th
Street, housed a hunger-striking Reverend Al Sharpton last year, and recently
has been the site of post-September protests against immigrant detainment.
While modest row houses are typical, Sunset Park contains what is arguably
the largest registered historic district in the state, between 17th and
64th streets, showcasing prime brownstones and limestones.
Community Organizations: The United Puerto Rican
Organization of Sunset Park provides educational programs, counseling,
and involvement with community initiatives such as fighting proposed power
plants.
Famous Residents: Closest thing to a neighborhood
celebrity was Honeymooner Ralph Kramden, who was supposed to have lived
in nearby Bensonhurst, but worked in Sunset Park. The MTA's Fifth Avenue
garage was renamed the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot in 1988.
Sietsema's Picks: Ocean Palace, 5423 Eighth Avenue,
is a dim sum flagship. Ba Xuyen, 6011 Seventh Avenue, boasts banh mi sandwiches
and counters crammed with colorful pastries. Other Restaurants: An Dong,
5424 Eighth Avenue, battles Ba Xuyen for Vietnamese sandwich supremacy.
Taquerías abound, with Ricos Tacos, 505 51st Street, and Tacos Matamoros,
4503 Fifth Avenue, just two key spots. Along Fifth Avenue, look for sidewalk
vendors hawking grilled corn on the cob coated with mayonnaise, cheese,
and cayenne pepper (it's better than it sounds).
Bars: Traditional nightspots are nearly nonexistent.
Perhaps the best-known club is the now notorious Wild Wild West at 3901
Second Avenue amid the smattering of "adult" businesses between the waterfront
and the Gowanus Expressway.
Local Politicians: Councilman Angel Rodriguez,
Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, State Senator Martin Connor, and Congresswoman
Nydia Velazquez, all Democrats
Crime Stats: As of June 2, the 72nd Precinct, which
also includes Windsor Terrace, reported three homicides, up from two last
year; eight rapes, down from 13; 126 robberies, down from 173; 105 felony
assaults, up from 96; and 181 burglaries, down from 214.
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Close-Up
On: Ridgewood, Queens Thrifty
Williamsburg expats typically flee to nearby Greenpoint or Bushwick. But
that epicenter of cool also shares an untrendy border with Ridgewood,
Queens, an often overlooked neighbor. Taking the M train a mere three
stops from the county line into the heart of Ridgewood is like hopping
into a time machine. Everything's a little cleaner, quieter, and, well,
quainter. Poles, Romanians, Albanians, Serbians, and Bosnians are recent
arrivals, while a German and Italian past is still felt. "Old World" isn't
a favored adjective for no good reason. In 1979 northern parts of then-troubled
Bushwick adopted the Queens zip code. Consequently, Ridgewood's borderlands
still retain a Brooklyn flavor. Walk fewer than 10 blocks from the imaginary
line and you'll see ads for salt cod shift to smoked sausage, street-by-street.
Boundaries: Demarcations are far from tidy. In a clockwise direction starting
north: Metropolitan Avenue, the LIRR tracks, and the Brooklyn-Queens border.
Main
Drags: Myrtle Avenue is the primary shopping strip, while Fresh Pond
Road pulses with small businesses.
Mass
Transit: Expect a 35- to 45-minute trek to Fresh Pond Road from Union
Square. Take the L train to Myrtle Avenue, where you can transfer to the
M or walk. The M can also be caught at points in Lower Manhattan.
Average
Rent: One-bedroom, $750 to $1050; two-bedroom, $1050 to $1400; three-bedroom,
$1200 to $1550
Average
Price to Buy: A typical two-family home costs $350,000 to $450,000.
Cultural
Institutions: The Greater Ridgewood Historical Society at the landmark
Vander Ende-Onderdonk House, 18-20 Flushing Avenue, is dedicated to preserving
local lore and educating the public. The nonprofit hosts exhibits and
events such as the recent Strawberry Festival and dedication of Arbitration
Rock, the rediscovered 18th-century Brooklyn-Queens boundary marker.
Landmarks:
Stockholm Street, the only brick-paved block left in Queens, was designated
a historic district in 2000.
Butcher
Shops: Carnivores have a friend in Ridgewood. A little gem, Forest
Pork Store, 6639 Forest Avenue, is more than just full of baloney. A pleasant
porcine aroma hovers around the block and can even be detected from the
subway at the nearby el stop. Karl Ehmer has over 20 East Coast locations,
but the renowned shop's main facility remains at 63-35 Fresh Pond Road
in Ridgewood. Western Beef may be a regular grocery store in the rest
of the city, but their flagship store, at 47-05 Metropolitan Avenue, houses
an enormous walk-in meat locker that draws Manhattanites as well as local
bargain hunters.
Community
Organizations: The Ridgewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps, on patrol
since 1975
Famous Residents:
Actor James Cagney and Yankee Phil Rizzuto were schooled at P.S. 71 in
Ridgewood.
Sietsema's
Picks: Bosna-Express, 791 Fairview Avenue, is a "cevabdzinica,"
an eatery focused on grilled meat snacks. It serves pljeskavica,
a behemoth Balkan burger composed of a lamb patty stuffed in a somun
(similar to a pita), fixed with onions, chopped salad, and dabs of sour
cream and homemade yogurt.
Other
Restaurants: Ridgewood proper retains few culinary vestiges of its
German past, yet if you stray two to three blocks east of the neighborhood's
nebulous border, you'll discover a year-round Oktoberfest. Gebhardt's,
65-06 Myrtle Avenue, Hans' Gasthaus, 64-04 Myrtle Avenue, and Zum Stammtisch,
69-46 Myrtle Avenue, are all of the accordion, taxidermy, and decorative-beer-stein
persuasion. Sure, mozzarella sticks and Caesar salad have worked their
way into the modern menus, but brauts and schnitzel are still king. Alive
and well, Niederstein's, 69-16 Metropolitan Avenue, is notable for its
bizarre location at the edge of Lutheran Cemetery.
Best
Bar: Ridgewood was filled with breweries and beer gardens until Prohibition.
Today you can wet your whistle at Everglades, 6621 Fresh Pond Road, with
its distinctive assemblage of gnomes above the door. Queens crank callers
the Jerky Boys were regulars here in their self-titled movie.
Local
Politicians: Councilman Dennis P. Gallagher, Republican; Assemblywoman
Catherine Nolan, Democrat; Assemblyman Anthony S. Seminerio, Democrat;
State Senator Serphin R. Maltese, Republican; and Congressman Joseph Crowley,
Democrat; Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez, Democrat.
Crime
Stats: The 104th Precinct includes most of Ridgewood, as well as Glendale,
Middle Village, and Maspeth. As of June 21, there have been 2 murders,
down from 3 this time last year; 10 rapes, the same as last year; 197
robberies, up from 184; 123 felonious assaults, down from 159; and 444
burglaries, up from 376. |