6. Ridgewood once shared a zip code with Bushwick
Beginning in 1898 with the consolidation of the City of New York, both Ridgewood and neighboring Glendale had their postal mail routed through Brooklyn’s post office in Williamsburg, rather than through Queen’s main office in Flushing, as a result of the closer proximity. The neighborhood’s political connections to Brooklyn continued with the assignment of zip codes in 1963, with Ridgewood, Bushwick, and Wyckoff Heights being made to share 11227. In turn, Ridgewood came to possess a Brooklyn mailing address despite being physically located in Queens.
While the Brooklyn zip code was accepted at first, this began to change following the 1977 New York City blackout as newspapers such as UPI and Associated Press presented photos of the Bushwick neighborhood overtaken with riots and looting. In response, residents of Ridgewood and Glendale began to express interest in disassociating themselves from the negative legacy of Bushwick. As complaints mounted, it was determined that the neighborhood’s zip code could be changed if U.S. Representative Geraldine Ferraro could secure support from 70% of residents. After putting the issue to vote, 93% of the collected ballots remained in favor of the change. On January 13, 1980, Ridgewood officially adopted the Queen’s zip code of 11385.
