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 BEST PLACES --Brooklyn --Maplewood, N.J. --Pleasantville A 30-minute train ride from midtown Manhattan, Maplewood, N.J. is a favorite compromise for city people who also want good public schools and their own yards. The town has a palpable sense of community (there are close to 30 block associations in Maplewood and neighboring South Orange), and residents prize its diversity. "We're not a cookie-cutter suburb in terms of outlook, interests or people," says Barbara Heisler Williams, 43, a resident for 13 years. Pleasantville, N.Y., another railroad suburb, in Westchester County north of the city, is a thriving, walkabout village cherished for its front-porch colonials--which start at around $550,000--and local attractions such as the Jacob Burns Film Center and the lush Rockefeller State Park Preserve. --E.G.  |