Kensington - A Brooklyn Neighborhood

Kensington is divided into two sections with primarily large apartment buildings line either side, on the residential side streets, however, the neighborhood features rows of brick or brownstone homes, larger one- or two-family detached homes with wraparound porches and large yards, and prewar and postwar houses that are five or six stories high. Most of the neighborhood's housing was built in the 1920s, specifically the freestanding homes, row houses, and five- and six-story apartment buildings.

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed Ocean Parkway in 1876. Ocean Parkway initially featured a central drive, landscaped malls bridle trail, pedestrian paths, and in later years a bicycle path, park benches, and chess tables. Originally designed as a graceful extension of Prospect Park, the northern section of Ocean Parkway was replaced by the Prospect Expressway in the 1950s. The section of Ocean Parkway between Church and Sea Breeze Avenues has been named a New York City landmark.

Newcomers who have revitalized the area include professionals and immigrants from Pakistan, Asia, India, Poland, Indonesia, Turkey, Mexico, Haiti, Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Russia. A Muslim community around Coney Island Avenue and Foster Avenues has flourished.

One of the attractions in the community is Kensington Stables. The stable offers boarding, riding lessons, and trail rides in Prospect Park on a 3.5-mile bridle path through scenic and varied terrain beginning at the Park Circle entrance and continues alongside the Lake to the Long Meadow and the Midwood.