Ridgewood: a Queens neighborhood with a Brooklyn ZIP habit, and where its MSP applications go

Ridgewood sits on the Queens side of the Brooklyn line, shares ZIP 11385 with blocks that spill toward Bushwick, and has a lot of residents who shop, see doctors, and ride the L in Brooklyn. On a Medicare Savings Program application none of that matters except one line: the county is Queens. Because HRA is citywide, a Ridgewood resident can even use a Brooklyn HRA office if it is closer. This page sorts out the border questions and then walks through the application the same way as the rest of the borough.

ZIP 11385 covers Ridgewood and Glendale, and it straddles the Queens and Brooklyn line; Ridgewood itself is in Queens County. Approximate; verify with USPS. On any county line write "Queens," even if your mail has ever said Brooklyn.

• HIICAP: 1-800-701-0501. Say "Queens." If you say "Brooklyn," the call is still answered by NYC Aging's program, but say Queens so your county is recorded correctly. Free and confidential; Polish and Spanish interpreters on request.
• NY Connects: 1-800-342-9871 (Relay 7-1-1).
• Nearest in-person sites: Sunnyside Community Senior Center, 43-31 39th Street, Sunnyside, NY 11104, 718-784-6173 x411, weekdays 9 to 4:30, by appointment (M train to Manhattan-bound transfers, or bus toward Queens Boulevard). NYC Aging's citywide list also includes Brooklyn sites, and any of them will see a Ridgewood resident. Book through NYC Aging Connect at 212-244-6469 (ask for HIICAP) and ask which site is closest for you.

HRA handles Medicaid and the Medicare Savings Programs for all five boroughs, so a Ridgewood application is not "a Queens case" in any way that limits which office you use. The HRA Medicaid Helpline is 1-888-692-6116. Office locations in Queens and Brooklyn are on nyc.gov/hra.

1. Confirm the address and county on your Medicare card and Social Security record. If Social Security has you listed with a Brooklyn city name because of an old address, it is worth fixing, but it does not stop an MSP application.
2. Add up monthly income for yourself or the couple. New York applies no resource test. The 2026 limits on health.ny.gov are $1,836 (one) and $2,489 (couple) a month for QMB and $2,474 and $3,355 for QI.
3. Call HIICAP and go through the numbers, in Polish or Spanish if that is easier.
4. File DOH-4328 with HRA (Polish and Spanish versions are on health.ny.gov) with copies of the Medicare card, ID, income proof, and a Ridgewood address document.
5. Extra Help follows an approved MSP automatically. Keep every letter; HRA and Social Security notices arrive separately.

• Writing "Kings" on the county line because the doctor is in Bushwick. Ridgewood is Queens County. A wrong county does not doom the application, but it slows it down.
• Assuming the Brooklyn HRA office will not take a Queens resident's form. HRA is one agency for the whole city; use whichever office is easiest, or mail the form.
• Letting a landlord's or employer's address stand in for yours. Ridgewood has many owner-occupied two- and three-family houses where several households share a street address. Use a document that shows your own name at the apartment.

Wyckoff Heights Medical Center sits on the Bushwick and Ridgewood line and is the hospital most residents know. It is a landmark here, not an application office.