• Kensington is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, located south of Prospect Park and the Green-Wood Cemetery. It is bordered by Coney Island Avenue to the east, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Caton Avenue to the north, McDonald Avenue and 36th Street to the west, and 18th Avenue to the south.[1] The neighborhoods that border Kensington and Parkville are Ditmas Park and Prospect Park South to the east (both of which are parts of Flatbush), Windsor Terrace to the north, Borough Park to the west, and Midwood to the south. • While Ocean Parkway forms the north-south spine of Kensington, the grand roadway is not the center of the neighborhood’s commercial life. Shopping and restaurants are concentrated along Coney Island Avenue, Kensington’s eastern border, with more toward the northern edge along Church Avenue and in the southern half on Ditmas Avenue. Maybe not necessarily known for its dining scene, Kensington is home to various diverse cuisines waiting to be discovered. If you cannot find what you’re looking for, an array of offerings await in nearby neighborhoods. #kensington

If you are a foodie, then the following are some best places to visit in Kensington are: 1. Gyro King, 473 McDonald Ave. at Beverley: Open 24 hours, Gyro King offers $4 chicken gyros around the clock. If you’re not into Greek food or you find the leg of lamb on the spit behind the counter unsettling, stop by for a 50¢ bagel or muffin. Looking for a late-night snack? Skip the diner; instead, ask for the $1 order of French fries, watch as the book fills a large Styrofoam takeout container to the brim, and enjoy. 2. Hot Bagel, 127 Church Ave. between Beverley & E. 2nd St. While every neighborhood has a deli with some variation of “Hot” and “Bagel” in the name, this one deserves a special mention. The service is impeccable, and you can get coffee and a bagel for less than two bucks. The best part? The bagels here truly are hot; bakery items are rotated so frequently that they’re fresh out of the oven more often than not, even at midnight. 3. Basmati, 221 Church Ave. at E. 3rd St. This family-owned Bangladeshi restaurant is one of the fancier spots in the area to grab dinner, but the prices are no indication. Features include 85¢ vegetable or meat samosas and a lunch special with $4.50 kebab wraps or three (yes, three) hot food menu items for $5.99. The naan is baked fresh to your order and is to die for. #kensington

Kensington continues to attract a growing number of professionals and young families who — alongside newcomers from Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Mexico, and the older established Italian and Irish families — have helped make the area one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods. Kensington is the safest neighborhood and ranks No. 3 in the city overall for per capita crime in DNAinfo.com's Crime & Safety Report, with just 66 major crimes per 10,000 residents. Covered by the 66th Precinct, the area has never had a serious crime problem, but its already low rates nevertheless dropped 76 percent in the 17 years to 2010, led by a 93 percent plunge in car thefts, to 135 from some 1,825 in 1993. Burglaries fell by 77 percent, to 383 in 2010; robberies were down by 76 percent, to 178. In recent years, the crime rate has plunged even further, falling 7 percent from 2009 to 2010, as cops and Jewish neighborhood patrols, named "Shomrim," kept a close eye on the streets. The 66th Precinct also is one of the few areas in the city with zero murders in 2010, a vast improvement compared with the eight on the books in 2009. Rapes dropped from 14 to 11, a 21 percent decrease, although that figure is up 10 percent compared to 2008. Still, the area ranks 9th safest in the city for that crime. #nocrime #kensington