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Old 10-09-2006, 01:53 PM
 
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I keep seeing a lot of ads for a section of Brooklyn called Kensington. What is this area like? The prices seem very reasonable is there a reason for this?
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Old 10-09-2006, 05:18 PM
 
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Originally Posted by chacker17 View Post
I keep seeing a lot of ads for a section of Brooklyn called Kensington. What is this area like? The prices seem very reasonable is there a reason for this?
Yes there is a reason. I looked there because it seems like a good deal. It is a heavily Hasidic area. Mostly apartments with fewer townhomes. It's very dirty and there is a lot of graffitti. Looks a lot like Southside Williamsburg without the brick buildings.. Decent area otherwise, seems safe enough.
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Old 10-10-2006, 10:32 AM
 
Location: Vermont
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I think Kensington is adjacent to Borough Park, where there are a lot of Hasidic Jews. In Kensington there are a lot of Bengali immigrants. There are all sorts of apartments, nice, drab and in-between. The area is easy to drive to because of Ocean Parkway and the Prospect expressway.

I would check things out. You might find a good deal and be happy with the place. Also, check out distances to the subway stations.
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Old 10-10-2006, 03:19 PM
 
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Thanks for your input. A co-worker lof mine lived in kensington about 8 years ago and at that time I had never heard of it. I visted a few times and it seemed but without any real charm. Lately I see it being advertised more and I'm wondering if this is going to be the next area that goes from being affordable to not. In the last couple of years areas Red Hook and LIC no one lived and now you can't afford the real estate. I have a car and work on Long Island so for me Kensington seems like it's pretty accesible to the highway.
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Old 10-10-2006, 04:08 PM
 
Location: Vermont
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If you live on Long Island, why don't you consider a neighborhood close to the Belt Parkway or Cross Island Parkway? There are lots of residential neighborhoods in Queens and in southern Brooklyn that are worth checking out. I don't know much about real estate prices there, but that information is easy to research online. Even Bay Ridge is near the Belt but it is all the way west. I would consider Sheepshead Bay. There is a lot of building going on there, and I think real estate prices are going down. Canarsie is another option, but it is not as nice, nor, I think, as safe.
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Old 10-10-2006, 04:14 PM
 
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Thanks-I will look into those neighborhoods. How is access to the city from there? What is sheepshead bay like?
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Old 10-10-2006, 05:51 PM
 
Location: Vermont
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Sheepshead Bay has private detached houses, attached houses and apartment buildings. On Emmonds Avenue by the bay there are lots of stores and restaurants, including the legendary Lundy's. The bay is nice to watch. Across the bay is Manhattan Beach, with very high end houses and the ocean. Sheepshead Bay is getting more and more built up, and, as a result, is getting increasingly congested. There is a subway station on Avenue U and E. 16th Street (local) and one on Sheepshead Bay Road (express). The trains both go to Manhattan in approxomately 30 minutes. The Belt Parkway is right nearby and it will take you to Long Island. You take it far enough and it forks onto the Cross Island and the Southern State (I think - you might want to double check on a map). The downside is that if there is a hurricane you may have to evacuate, which, due to the traffic congestion at the best of times, would be a nightmare, if it is possible at all. But hurricanes are very rare this far north. You can check the hurricane evacuation zones online.

The area is nice, although, compared to neighborhoods further north, is a little more suburban and even provincial. But check it out.

There are also neighborhoods further west in southern Brooklyn, such as Bay Ridge, Bath Beach and even Bensonhurst. Further east, there is Bergen Beach, Canarsie and East New York. East New York is, I think, being upgraded but there was a time it looked bombed out. The area right by the Queens border is interesting, with narrow streets and a lot of atmostphere.
But there are lots of cemeteries near the border.

Neighborhoods in Brooklyn vary in terms of safety.

Hope this helps.
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Old 10-10-2006, 07:25 PM
 
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East New York is, I think, being upgraded but there was a time it looked bombed out. The area right by the Queens border is interesting, with narrow streets and a lot of atmostphere.
But there are lots of cemeteries near the border.
East New York and Brownsville are still very scary places. I was there last year.
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Old 10-19-2006, 01:29 PM
 
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Originally Posted by arel View Post
East New York is, I think, being upgraded but there was a time it looked bombed out. The area right by the Queens border is interesting, with narrow streets and a lot of atmostphere.
But there are lots of cemeteries near the border.
East NY is not experencing any gentrification. It is a VERY high crime low income area.
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Old 10-20-2006, 06:39 AM
 
Location: Vermont
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I have seen new construction in East New York. But I remember when it looked like a war zone and was very frightening to drive in. I agree, though, that East New York and Brownsville are best avoided.

If you will be commuting to Long Island, I think your best bets are areas in Brooklyn or Queens that are near the Belt Parkway or the Cross Island Parkway (or Cross Island Expressway - check the map). That way you will have easy access to limited access roads that will take you right to Long Island. (Parkways do not allow trucks; expressways do.)

The Belt can be congested at times, but this usually nothing compared to the congestion on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway or the Van Wyck Expressway.

Road construction, an accident or plain old congestion can slow you down tremendously.

Driving through the streets can be slow and frustrating, because of congestion and traffic lights. So you may not want to be more than a mile or so from the entrance ramp.

By the way, the Belt is very pretty in places. You drive right by Jamaica Bay and you see lots of open spaces, water, sand and greenery. Some of the limited access roads in Queens are also pretty nice.

Last edited by arel; 10-20-2006 at 06:41 AM.. Reason: grammar, spacing
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