Joseph, before your “back in the day” besserer mentchen moved from the Lower East Side to the Bronx. Neither of which is Brooklyn or Queens.
One difference that’s significant to the readership of the CR is that many neighborhoods in Queens have eruvs that are widely accepted.
WTP, Brooklyn used to have an airport. In fact it was NYC’s first municipal airport. It also used to have a baseball stadium. Queens also has a 13th Avenue where it’s easier to park than on Brooklyn’s.