BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
The latest New York Times story lauding Ridgewood as one of the city’s most popular neighborhoods came with a map that went beyond the community’s actual boundaries.
The article touts Ridgewood as a more affordable alternative to neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn, specifically citing Ridgewood’s lower cost to buy or rent a home or apartment.
But the New York Times map that accompanied the online article, purportedly showing Ridgewood’s boundaries, included areas that many longtime residents of the area know are actually a part of Maspeth and Middle Village.
“In reviewing the New York Times article, it’s quite obvious to me that portions of the Community Board 5 (CB 5) area that are in Middle Village and Maspeth have been included as being part of Ridgewood,” said Gary Giordano, district manager of CB 5. “The area that’s on the map outlined in red that is north of Metropolitan Avenue are portions of Maspeth and Middle Village.”
Ridgewood’s northern border is Metropolitan Avenue from the Newtown Creek near Scott Avenue to the Long Island Rail Road’s Montauk branch at Fresh Pond Road. This is consistent with the 11385 ZIP code boundary. The railroad branch is also part of the northern border from Fresh Pond Road/Metropolitan Avenue to the LIRR Bay Ridge branch, which is commonly recognized as the boundary between Ridgewood and Glendale.
But according to the New York Times map, Ridgewood spans as far north as Mount Olivet Cemetery, which has an address of 65-40 Grand Ave. in Maspeth. Other parts of Maspeth in an area generally bounded by Metropolitan Avenue, Flushing Avenue and Fresh Pond Road were also included in the New York Times map as being part of Ridgewood.
Several Middle Village places of interest — including both halves of All Faiths Cemetery, the Fresh Pond Crematory on Mount Olivet Crescent and the appropriately named Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue M train station — and neighboring blocks were also identified as Ridgewood in the New York Times map.
J.P. DiTroia, president of the Fresh Pond Crematory, was surprised to hear that the crematory was put on the Ridgewood map. He noted that company documents dating back to June 1911 listed the site as being in Middle Village.
“We’ve been in the 11379 [ZIP code for Middle Village] for many years, but I’ll take the credit, though,” he joked.
According to a source at The New York Times, the paper is working on a correction to the map.
