DITMAS PARK

Ditmas Park, the current name for 12 small neighborhoods in central Brooklyn, developed around 1900 as a fashionable New York suburb.  Still filled with the largest concentration of Victorian homes in the United States, the neighborhood added dozens of pre- and post-WWII apartment buildings, including many co-ops, since it was first built.  Century-old trees survive alongside newer plantings, and contribute to the quiet ambiance of the residential streets.  The mix of elegant mansions (most with porches, driveways, and front and back yards), two-family houses, co-op and rental apartments supports the neighborhood’s unusual diversity.  Recently dubbed “the most diverse neighborhood in America” by U.S.News & World Report, Ditmas Park attracts a broad swath of individuals and families from a wide variety of cultural, religious, and economic backgrounds.  And it’s unusually wide sidewalks, Farmers Market, local stores, and excellent public schools provide casual opportunities for residents to meet and socialize in public spaces.

You really have to see it to believe it; that’s why so many first-time visitors exclaim: “I can’t believe its Brooklyn!”

KENSINGTON

Kensington, one of central Brooklyn’s desirable neighborhoods, borders Prospect Park and is traversed by Ocean Parkway.   Its housing stock includes one- and two-family houses, co-op apartment buildings on and near Ocean Parkway, and rental buildings.  Many people like the quiet Kensington streets, and the housing offers good value in Brooklyn’s market.  On a good day you’ll see bicylists, runners, and walkers, as well as chess players, on the bench-lined  strip along Ocean Parkway.  The neighborhood includes ethnic and religious enclaves as well as culturally mixed middle and upper-middle class areas; Kensington has something for everyone!

Kensington has two public schools with very good reputations; not many neighborhoods can make that claim!