Looking for a child-friendly home in Brooklyn/Queens/New Jersey

Description

We are two journalists with a two year old son who are moving to New York for an adventure for 6-12 months. As part of my job (an editor for early years magazine Nursery World) I plan to visit the Harvard Center for the Developing Child, while we have links with US academics including at New York University (who have previously come to speak at our conferences). Our apartment is securely accessed through the garden, leading into a hall with a hi spec kitchen to your left and bathroom with bath and shower to the right. There are two bedrooms, a principal overlooking the garden and the second which has a double bed tucked away at one end and study area with window at the other, and large living/dining room. The flat is semi-furnished with furniture including beds (with new mattress), table and chairs, sofa and armchair, wardrobes and even a piano. The area: The flat is in the desirable borough of Islington, with lots going on nearby: picturesque Regent's canal, with its trendy eateries, Southgate Road and Essex Road which have plenty of good pubs and cafes, Clissold Park with deer and other farm animals (and an extremely good ice cream shop en route). Central London is a 25 min bus ride, Hampstead Heath is 20 mins on the tube and Regent's Park is 30 mins on the bus. We are looking for a 2-3 bedroom apartment within easy reach of green space and preferably with a garden/backyard. My partner's job is in Astor Place so we would like somewhere within easy commutability of this part of Manhattan. Unfussy as to neighbourhood as long as it is pleasant.