QUEENS — Glendale residents and elected officials are pushing for a unique ZIP code for their area, which they say is being confused with neighboring Ridgewood, depriving the area of its identity and leading to delays in mail service.
Earlier this week, Queens Rep. Grace Meng introduced a bill that would give Glendale, a middle-class neighborhood on the Brooklyn-Queens border, its own postal address.
Currently, Glendale shares its 11385 ZIP code with Ridgewood.
“Most areas in the borough are recognized by their neighborhood names, which provide a sense of identity and pride for local residents,” Meng said. “That is true for Glendale, and it’s time for the Postal Service to accept and recognize that by creating a ZIP Code that the community can finally call its own.”
Residents said they have fought for the change for nearly two decades.
“Our mail would say Ridgewood or Flushing or Queens,” said Dorie Figliola, 60, a Glendale community activist, who has been advocating for a separate ZIP code since the 1990s. "People were also getting mail with delays."
Figliola said that some GPS devices are unable to locate the address if drivers type in "Glendale," which, she said, can be very confusing.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, and represents both Glendale and Ridgewood, said that it’s also a matter of identity.
“We have well over 30,000 people that live in Glendale and the number is growing,” she said.
She also noted that "geographically, these are two different areas."
The two neighborhoods also feature different type of housing.
Glendale boasts mostly one- and two-family homes, while Ridgewood features more multiple family houses.
"We deserve our own post office," said Crowley, adding that the main post office for the area is located in Ridgewood.
Figliola noted that “so many things are done by ZIP code,” that it’s difficult to track census-related issues pertaining to a particular area if several neighborhoods share the same postal address.
According to Meng’s office, once the bill passes, the Postal Service will be obliged to designate a unique ZIP code for Glendale within 180 days.
The USPS did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
It would not be the first change of ZIP code for Glendale.
Until the 1970s, Glendale and Ridgewood were part of the 11227 ZIP code, which was based in Brooklyn and shared with Bushwick.
Following the 1977 blackout and riots in the Bushwick area, then-Rep. Geraldine Ferraro granted Glendale and Ridgewood a new Queens ZIP code.
