Extra! Extra! Manhattanites Migrate to Ridgewood

The latest in the NY Times "Discovery of Queens" real estate schtick is the story of five families moving from the East Village to Ridgewood. The pioneering family falls for Ridgewood's spacious, cheap, beautiful housing, and their experience lures four more families to trek out on the L train and liberate themselves from expensive, cramped Manhattan quarters:

A decade after Williamsburg became the new SoHo, they wondered: Would Ridgewood become the new Williamsburg?

Maybe. Check this quote for a sense of real estate appreciation in the area:

The previous owners had bought the house a year earlier for $180,000, she said; they agreed on a sale price of $315,000.

The article's enthusiasm is great, but two odd bits didn't fit right. First, the families' lifeline L train only skirts the neighborhood's southern flank with Bushwick. The elevated M is the real Ridgewood line, and it's slow. Second, Ridgewood is described simply as: "Finally, a nice neighborhood and houses we can afford," and "suitably urban." (See my detailed profile of Ridgewood.) Let's hope that the next NY Times reporter sets foot in Ridgewood and sees the best brownstones in Queens.

Good luck to the new families in Ridgewood and to the families who have lived in one of the most beautiful Queens neighborhoods for years.

• More on Ridgewood, Neighborhood Profile
• Photos of Ridgewood