Ridgewood, Queens named 4th coolest neighborhood in the world - Pop It Records

Ridgewood residents, get ready for your rents to rise: Time Out New York has just named the Queens neighborhood the fourth coolest neighborhood in the world, beating out Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Astoria, the Lower East Side, Harlem, Bushwick and any other NYC neighborhood you can think of. (It was the only spot in all five boroughs to make the list, which has 51 neighborhoods total.) Here's their blurb:

Ridgewood, Queens sits close by the Brooklyn border, pulling in the best of each borough: the diversity and local vibes of Queens and the hip offerings of Brooklyn, specifically neighbouring Bushwick. Ridgewood’s identity, though, is old-school-meets-trendy with a mix of landmark staples, like Rudy’s Bakery and Gottscheer Hall, and buzzy new bars and restaurants like The Acre, Evil Twin and Café Plein Air. While (like all NYC neighbourhoods) it’s constantly evolving, it keeps its past intact with an impressive ten historic districts, including the rows of two-storey brick houses that define the neighbourhood. In fact, Ridgewood harbours the oldest surviving stone-built Dutch colonial house in NYC: the Vander Ende-Onderdonk House, originally built in 1709. With its enduring mom-and-pop stores and a commitment to honouring its history, Ridgewood is a sleeper hit of a neighbourhood: beloved not despite, but because of, its low-key vibe.
The perfect day Wake up to sunlight pouring through the windows at this nearby Bushwick Airbnb and grab a bagel and coffee at Norma’s Corner Shoppe. From there, you’ll want to scan the racks and shelves at OPC Buy Sell Trade, Forever Vintage, Topos Bookstore and Tiny Arts Supply. Grab lunch and a flight at Evil Twin Brewing or a bite from the iconic Rolo’s. Stroll along The Central Ridgewood Historic District (Madison Street down to 71st Ave and from Fresh Pond Road over to Onderdonk Avenue) and do dinner at Porcelain and drinks at Julia’s.
Plan your trip For the weekly Mister Sunday parties at Nowadays: a 16,000-square-foot space that acts as both a charming backyard with hammocks and picnic tables and a nightlife hotspot with dancing and a solid selection of beer.

In addition to Nowadays, Ridgewood and neighboring areas like Bushwick and Maspeth have increasingly become a home for music venues, including TV Eye, Knockdown Center, Elsewhere, Brooklyn Made, Trans-Pecos, the recently-reopened Alphaville, The Sultan Room, Avant Gardner, Bar Freda, The Windjammer, Sundown, Market Hotel, Gold Sounds, Our Wicked Lady, The Broadway, House of Yes, Rubulad, Purgatory, H0l0, and more we're probably forgetting. There are also two new venues set to open across the street from Brooklyn Made.

Ridgewood might also have HBO's How to With John Wilson to thank for being more popular on a national level than ever, though the writing was already on the wall when Parquet Courts immortalized the neighborhood in the opening lines of "Stoned and Starving" ten years ago.