Times Tackles Kensington, Sees Affordable Melting Pot
This weekend Kensington got the “Living In…” treatment c/o the Times’ real estate section, where the neighborhood (a narrow stretch just below Prospect Park bordered on the west by Borough Park and on the east by Victorian Flatbush nabes like Ditmas Park) is characterized as a multi-culti, cheapish alternative to the Slope. The story profiles…
This weekend Kensington got the “Living In…” treatment c/o the Times’ real estate section, where the neighborhood (a narrow stretch just below Prospect Park bordered on the west by Borough Park and on the east by Victorian Flatbush nabes like Ditmas Park) is characterized as a multi-culti, cheapish alternative to the Slope. The story profiles some white gentrifiers priced out of the Slope and Windsor Terrace who revel in Kensington’s diversity, affordability, decent schools, and proximity to the park but lament the lack of certain amenities, like coffee shops. Comps: 1-fams=$650,000 to $750,000; 2-fams generally go from $750,000 to $900,000; 1-bed condos tend to range from $150,000 to $300,000; and 1-bed rentals are usually less than $1,500 per month. The piece says Kensington has pockets of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Muslim, and Hasidic Jew communities, and includes the following quote from the founder of the Kensington Blog: “It’s actually a real New York neighborhood, where you can see tons of different kinds of people and we shop at the same places. There’s real beauty in that. At the end of the day, if I have to hop on my bike to go to a restaurant, it’s not that big of a deal.” All this sound about right?
Name From London, People From Everywhere [NY Times]
NY Times Article [Kensington Blog]
The Times discovers Kensington [Flatbush Gardener]
Photo by Precision Accuracy.
To the person who asked about 599 east 7th…. I live in that bldg and love it. It a good, solidly built building, and the neighbors are by en large a freindly group with a lot of pride in the building. (An example of the construction: an apartment that shares a wall with me had a fire and in our apartment you’d never know it- no smoke fumes, no damage at all!) The building echos the neighborhood- a strong mix of black, white, east asian and middle eastern. There are young families, single people, and older couples. The location is good b/c we are only a 5 minute walk from Cortelyou, which has good groceries, coffee at VoxPop, Connecticut Muffin, the Farm, etc etc. The Q is about a 10 minute walk, the F about 7 minutes. I don’t love the shopping options on Ditmas, but make due when I need to grab something quick.
I recommend buying in the building.
2:18 Since when did white= safe???
Besides, Kensington happens to very safe and not particularly white. Its about as mixed as it gets. That’s why we like it!
I’ve lived in Kensington for two years now. I love living there because it is quiet and out of the fray. The detached and semi-detached houses give it an open feeling, and I love the greenery of the front yards and street trees. If you want to be right in the middle of restaurants and shops, don’t bother. If you can stand traveling a bit for those things, and you like the idea of a tranquil neighborhood, it’s worth checking out. It’s true, there are lots of terrible-looking vinyl-clad buildings, but there are also lots of big pre-war apartments, as well as many cute one- and two-family houses. Not cheap by any sane standards, but less expensive than lots of other neighborhoods.
Influx of new immigrants, and established presence of older immigrant groups, is exactly what makes Kensington (and also Ditmas Park) interesting, livable, and exciting in ways that have nothing to do with gentrification. Without these large groups of people, these neighborhoods would be bland. Because they are here, you can hear so many languages, visit a Russian bathhouse, try an Israeli or a Balkan boureka, hear the muezzin at the mosque issue the call to prayer (or maybe it’s a recording, but it’s still beautiful), find real Mexican food, buy five kinds of feta at Golden Farm or pelmeni and Armenian preserves on Ditmas Avenue, and so on. There’s even a 24-hour deli on CIA that sells cricket bats, should you need one at any hour. If you like being immersed in multiple cultures not your own (or of your ancestors: I can find all the stuff my grandmother cooked around here), this area is for you. If you don’t like immigrants and people from other places, move to Boston.
I’d love a two-bedroom co-op with a terrace in a building with excellent financials. Does anyone know anything about 370 Ocean Parkway?
guest at May 27, 2008 6:46 PM wrote: “If you are on a budget then Kensington might be a wise choice. But you have to put up with all the cons (few amenities, influx of new immigrants)”
Neighborhoods in New York City have immigrants. New York City has been a city of immigrants for a few hundred years. Get used to it.
guest at May 27, 2008 2:37 PM wrote: “i look for poor white/ethnic white or hispanic nieghborhoods for gentrification value. you can live safely while helping to push forward the gentrification.”
And while helping to push out the people who live there now and who helped make New York City the great American city that it is. That’s not very neighborly of you. When they see you coming, they should put up “There’s Nothing for Sale Here” signs.
guest at May 27, 2008 12:45 PM wrote: “I mean things like the Kensington blog saying ‘One of the last affordable (and safe!) areas within reasonable commuting distance to Manhattan.’
That seems like some sort of coded racial language, or maybe I’m just imagining it.”
You’re imagining it. That’s not what our neighborhood blogger means and that’s not how we, the blog’s readers, take it. Your interpretation of the word “safe” as meaning no African Americans is way off the mark.
guest at May 27, 2008 12:15 PM wrote: “It’s not a place for everyone.”
That’s a wise comment. If you like Kensington for what it is, move here. If you don’t, find someplace more to your liking. Don’t move here with the purpose of changing us.