Hi family

Here we are all settled into our new home. It’s raining today, but we’ve had quite a few hot days. We really love our first impression of Brooklyn, or at least our little corner of it. Our street ( and area ) is mainly residential. (see below)

Here’s the story…we had a bad flight going form Sydney to LA, with a baby next to us, wailing most of the way. The advantage of this is that for the next segment, LA to NY we slept like the dead! So when we arrived we felt OK. The hotel at JFK was excellent (a Priceline bargain) Next day we met our land lord Jim, young guy, works in the film industry, editing or something, got the keys, then headed up to Albany. Loading the truck…..a huge truck….see photos …went well, no dramas, the guy who helped us was good. Did not say much, just lifted and lifted..that’s what you want.

Driving the truck back was really fun. We took turns. New York itself was interesting because I didn’t realize that so many streets, tunnels and exits are marked “ passenger cars only”.

But here we are. Today, Sunday we drove to Coney Island/Brighton Beach, which is about 15 minutes drive away. It’s a surprisingly nice beach, thought the “fun park” for which Coney Island is famous, is a bit seedy. Everyone in this area is Russian and many shops only have Russian signs in the windows. They call Brighton Beach “Little Russia”.

We now have everything in place and it’s starting to feel like home. Tomorrow I’ll be at school; takes about 40 minutes in the subway, and then a 7 or 8 minute walk.

So that’s a summary of our news up until now.

Love, Narda and Terrell.

Kensington is a neighborhood in the center of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered by Coney Island Avenue to the east, Caton Avenue to the north, Dahill Road to the west, and Ditmas Avenue to the south. The neighborhoods that border it are Ditmas Park and Prospect Park South to the east, Windsor Terrace to the north, Borough Park to the west, and Parkville to the south.

Kensington is a predominantly residential area consisting of housing types that run the gamut from brick rowhouses, to detached one family Victorians and apartment buildings. Pre-war brick apartment buildings dominate the Ocean Parkway and Coney Island Avenue frontage, many operating as co-ops. There is a commercial area on Church Avenue. Ocean Parkway bisects the neighborhood and the F train (IND Culver Line) runs along the western part of the neighborhood. In addition, Kensington is served by the B16, B23, B35, B67, B68, and B103 local buses, as well as the X29 express bus to Manhattan.