Troubleshooting

The Safest and Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in NYC

By Virginia K. Smith  | July 10, 2014 - 8:59AM
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Crime may not be New York's most pressing issue anymore—we've got mind-boggling rents to worry about, instead!—but everyone still wants to know if the neighborhood they're living in (or about to live in) is safe.

As such, and because we care, we worked with apartment data site AddressReport to pull numbers on the safest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. We focused on non-violent crime—car theft, burglary and grand larceny—rather than violent crime (murder, rape, assault and robbery) because it's much more common, and therefore varies more widely between areas. The numbers are pulled from NYPD data from May 2013 to May 2014, as well as neighborhood population figures from the 2010 U.S. census. They are based on crimes per capita to account for differences in the populations of each area.

In Manhattan, neighborhoods like Roosevelt Island, Yorkville, and Washington Heights all fared well, while Times Square and the Meatpacking District—​i.e. neighborhoods with big daytime populations of tourists, drunk tourists, and criminals who prey on tourists—​landed at the bottom.

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We were surprised to see comparatively expensive areas like Fort Greene, Williamsburg, and Dumbo among Brooklyn's highest-crime areas, but less so to see family-oriented Borough Park and Windsor Terrace at the opposite end of the spectrum. 

Take a look at the full numbers below, and feel good about at least one thing: you never wanted to live in the Meatpacking District anyway, right?

MANHATTAN

Safest Neighborhoods       Non-violent crimes per 1,000 residents                       
Roosevelt Island2.401
Beekman3.99
Battery Park City4.33
Civic Center5.62
Hudson Heights6.18
Tudor City6.44
Yorkville7
Washington Heights7.41
Manhattan Valley7.62
Carnegie Hill8.11

 

Most Dangerous Neighborhoods       Non-violent crimes per 1,000 residents     
Meatpacking District164
Times Square144
Garment District130.5
Koreatown118.6
Union Square73.2
NoHO58
Hudson Square55.7
SoHo44.8
Flatiron District42
Columbus Circle31.7

 

BROOKLYN

Safest Neighborhoods        Non-violent crimes per 1,000 residents                        
Borough Park4.87
Bergen Beach4.88
Midwood Park4.92
Bath Beach4.99
South Williamsburg5.17
Kensington5.26
Mapleton6.07
Bensonhurst6.27
Sunset Park6.35
Windsor Terrace6.36

 

 

Most Dangerous Neighborhoods     Non-violent crimes per 1,000 residents       
Downtown Brooklyn72.7
Navy Hill40.3
Greenwood Heights26.5
Vinegar Hill25.2
Williamsburg24.4
Fort Greene 20.3
DUMBO16.5
Mill Island16.2
Prospect Park South16.1
East Williamsburg15.7

 

QUEENS

Safest Neighborhoods           Non-violent crimes per 1,000 residents                    
Bellerose2.48
Glen Oaks3.96
Pomonok3.98
Beechurst/Whitestone4.83
Corona5.13
Little Neck5.52
Rego Park5.75
Belle Harbor5.87
East Flushing 5.91
Murray Hill5.95

 

Most Dangerous Neighborhoods     Non-violent crimes per 1,000 residents      
Long Island City19.2
Hunters Point18.4
Howard Beach15.7
Ozone Park14.4
Jamaica12.4
Flushing11.8
Rochdale11.6
Woodhaven11.4
Kew Gardens10.9
South Ozone Park10.7

 

Related:

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11 reasons why that apartment is too good to be true

7 maps you'll want to consult before you move (and two just for fun)

Revamped website Address Report mines public data for the scoop on your next rental

Is your elevator too slow? Find out

Buying a Brooklyn brownstone? New website unearths "secret" listings?

Valuables lesson: where not to hide your stuff from a burglar

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