What Kensington still holds for many

You know for many people Kensington is all new,
a place cheaper to live than Park slope, or a neighborhood
a lot safer than Williamsburg. There is Church Avenue
with it’s “not much to offer” pretty face. Along with some
public schools either on the “wrong” or “right” side of
Beverly Road.

Yeah, these gigantic wood frames are sure pretty, and you
could probably sell your brownstone in Park Slope and buy
three of them in a row. And all with driveways too.

Kensington is sure ripe for the picking,
especially if you are “new”.

But then there is the Kensington that others knew, a place
where they grew up. A place that holds a infinite amount
of childhood memories along a dirty looking Church Avenue.

99-cent stores where a movie theater once stood, wonderful
toy shops where nail salons now polish and lacquer to no end.
Or nameless, faceless take-out places where some of
Brooklyn’s best bakeries once lived.

What’s is “oh so new” and cheap to you,
is still a cherished memory for others.

Others who now live far away, and
sometimes dream about the streets and
houses where once they once grew up.

Yes , that’s what Kensington
still means to them.

Ron Lopez