New York City is a big place and not many people know the all the different neighborhoods that are part of this city. When I tell people I’m from Queens, everyone knows the borough, but it’s when I get more specific that confusion sets in. Not many know the small town of Middle Village unless of course you’re one of the cool kids who grew up here and did stuff like this:
1. You either went to PS 128 or PS 49 for elementary school and then you ventured to IS 119 in Glendale for middle school.
2. If you went to PS 128 the dance festival was your favorite day of the year.
3. As a kid you spent every summer day at Juniper Valley Park.
4. And then when you got older, you spent every summer night at the same park and started calling it “Juni” because it sounded way cooler.
5. You and you friends argued over whether to order pizza from Carlo's or Phillie's.
6. You played soccer or basketball for either Our Lady of Hope or St. Margaret’s.
7. And then if you were good enough, you played soccer for Gottschee and it became your entire life.
8. Your parents dropped you off at Atlas to see a movie, but you ended up playing hide and seek in the parking garages instead.
9. The M train was your all-access pass into the city on the weekends.
10. The ices from The Little Sweet Shoppe will always be better than Ralph’s Ices because you grew up on them.
11. You had to listen to your grandparents complain about knocking down Niederstein’s and replacing it with an Arby’s because “How dare they take away Middle Village’s gem?”
12. You loved going grocery shopping at Silver Barn because it made you feel like you were some where in the countryside and not the city.
13. You could get everything you needed from some dollar store on Metropolitan Avenue.
14. You or someone you knew played baseball for RGMVM.
15. You had at least one of your birthday parties at Ooba Dooba.
16. When Trader Joe’s opened up, your family became obsessed with it.
17. Your parents only allowed you to ride your bike by yourself if you stayed in the community drive.
18. If your friends didn’t live in Middle Village, they lived in Glendale, Ridgewood or Maspeth.
19. Everyone wanted to be invited to everyone’s block parties
20. You thought you were so cool when you said you lived in "Murda Ville."
