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.
2:25 PM – You’re the one on crack.
I live in PLG – am a single white woman, and walk home drunk at 2 am and have never had a problem.
Maybe that’s because I don’t act like I’m afraid of the other people on the street or think that I’m better than them.
As far as being the next big thing, even Jackson Heights got a Starbucks now, I don’t think it is completely out of question.
All it takes is one higher tier place, and that will trigger the chain we have all been waiting for. I really don’t see why this area can’t get Windsor Terrace type of shops. Terrace Bagels, a good Sushi place, Connecticut Muffin style coffee shop . . . That will add another 20% to our investments.
F train is not bad at all. I get a seat every morning from Church and I sleep for 45 minutes then I am there.
I bought a 875 sqft JR4 in one of the doorman buildings on Beverley Road for 125K back in 2003 and I am EXTREMELY happy with the investment. It is a very safe, very quite neighborhood and has all the basic shopping you can possibly ask for. 5 minute walk to the Subway too.
Lack of good food is annoying, but Korner Pizza is top tier, Yummy Taco is not too bad either. A coffee shop would be fantastic. Heck even Dunkin Donuts with seatings will address a major complaint. But at end of the day you can always order, Fresh Direct delivers to my building as well.
Commute is fantastic if you work on Wall Street, but now I work on 59th and Lex it is 2 hours a day. I am thinking about renting my place out and look into Jackson Heights (IMO, the only area that can truly match Kensington in overall value).
I am sorry there is no way I am going to pay 2X the money to live in a smaller apartment for a few more dining options or coffee shops. That is what Manhattan is for. I can brew my own coffee at home and I rather have the space.
The first post fell for what so many do… judging the houses by their 60’s makeovers. Get rid of the aluminum awning, give it a nice paint job and you just might find a real gem under there. Our house looked awful when we bought it but we knew it had good bones. It is a real beauty now. We love Kensington! We just need a Tea Lounge or something!
DITTO ON NEEDING A GOOD COFFEE SHOP!!! The Church Ave/ McDonald stop is busy all of the time.We need a good coffee shop right on that corner!
We chose Kensington over Williamsburg (where we had lived for 10 years)for many reasons. Yes, the commute is longer but I’m a reader so that does not bother me. Kensington is substantially cheaper than Wmburg when it comes to buying a single family home, especially if you look at the pocket just south of the cemetary (Chester, Clara, Louisa)where they are all solid brick homes often with large yards and garages and deceivingly large and beautiful on the inside. It is very safe and quiet and the schools are again much better then Wmburg. No, we are not nearly as groovy but I’m over that. We have been very happy the last 4 years with our choice and have no intention of leaving anytime soon. They do need a good coffeee shop though , that is for sure. A gold mine waiting to be tapped…
I think some areas are definitely noisier than others. Areas close to Church seem so. Frankly, I always think that’s a block to block thing anyway- the same could be said of my old neighborhood of Boerum Hill (or any neighborhood) when we started living there in 1990. Our block was horribly noisy because it had 5 apartment buildings and lots of folks hanging out in front at night. The rest of the area was blissfully quiet. We live near a jr high here and that can be a real pain in terms of noise and the destructive nature of kids that age but it’s not like I didn’t know that before we bought. I’ve never been harassed walking home or around CIA late and have on Cortelyou in Ditmas but I’d say that depends on what jerk is hanging on the street that day. The littering and the people who leave dog do around are the things that bug me. Way worse than the old neighborhood.
It depends on where you are in the neighborhood and what you deem amenities. We’re within 3 blocks of Ditmas and Cortelyou Rd, so it doesn’t matter that to us that Kensington is a little lacking in that department but I can definitely see that there’s little to do to the west of us. It is what it is- a changing area. If you are close enough to Ditmas you have a few nice restaurants and business that you can frequent while you wait and see if the rest of the area gets some without paying 1.1M for a house. But if you live in the other parts, the area may seem totally too lacking. That’s the risk you take for buying in a relatively affordable place. There’s usually something (transportation, no restaurants, more crime, whatever) that makes it cheaper.
seeing how prospect heights and crown heights have much better housing than anything south of 9th st in park slope makes it interesting that south of 9th street has gentrified faster. 14th street is far away from North Slope yet much nicer than anything east of Washington ave which is much closer to say Lincoln Pl.
2:37, Prospect Heights is a historically-black neighborhood. It’s rapidly gentrifying, thanks to the proximity to the Q/B and 2/3 express trains and Park Slope.