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.
2:15 — sorry, yes PS and the other areas you mention were worse, but NO, they were not filled with black ghettos.. they just weren’t. thanks for proving the point! i look for poor white/ethnic white or hispanic nieghborhoods for gentrification value. you can live safely while helping to push forward the gentrification.
you cannot change a ghetto black neighborhood. i’d like to see that example. Fort Greene + Clinton Hill + prospect hts are still predominantly black with not good schools.
i prefer kensington, east williamsburg, greenpoint, sunset park, etc.. over PLG, Crown HTs., Bed-Stuy, for value.
look at cobble hill, north williamsburg, carroll gardens, west slope – all were italian! easy to gentrify.
I’ve lived in Kensington for about four years now and am pretty much fed up with it. Noisy and inconsiderate neighbors combined with the lack of amenities (I love how the NYT article under “things to do” basically has: nothing) has pretty much worn me down, and I’m looking to move. I do think it must make a huge difference if you have a car, though.
It is basically a safe neighborhood, although there are pockets, like Coney Island Avenue where I get street harassed on a daily basis, where I wouldn’t want to walk late at night, especially as a lone woman.
soho was kinda pricey 30 years ago
2.15
I don’t want to wait 30 years and live my life not being able to walk to the subway at 10pm. There are no shootings in Kensington or crack houses. Didn’t you read the Brownstoner article in NY Mag? With the economy the way it is all you PLGs could get screwed!
“you will always end up making more in an area that does not have ghetto elements.”
Tell that to my neighbor who bought here Park Slope brownstone when it was $35,000, next to a crack house on one side and a whorehouse on the other.
I’d say she could get around 3 million for it now.
You aren’t from around here, are you?
Do you have ANY IDEA what the Upper West Side, Soho, Lower East Side and Hells kitchen were like 30 years ago??
GHETTO with a capital G.
I’d choose Kensington over PLG any day of the week.
1:01 – totally agree. i do not think it is possible to fully gentrify ghetto areas – bad for your safety in the here and now, and really bad as an investment. you will always end up making more in an area that does not have ghetto elements.
Regarding 12:45 comment-
“That seems like some sort of coded racial language, or maybe I’m just imagining it.”
Stop being so PC! Although if I had a choice btw PLG and Kensington, I’d surely choose Kensington for the safety factor…
I’ve owned a coop in “The Kens” for 6 years.
I noticed that in my building, Park Slope Expats were moving in after selling their apts in the Slope, making a profit and paying cash “outright” for an apt in the building.
This is a VERY smart move as now only 1 parental unit has to work while the other stays home with the kids. Peace of mind in having no mortgage payment over your head and a great school a block away.
Alot of people are cashing out of their places in “Brownstone, Brooklyn” and enjoying piece of mind with very low or no mortgages over their heads in Kensington. AGAIN, SMART MOVE!