Is Borough Park Safe? Brooklyn Livability, Crime & Rent
Borough Park scores 6.7 composite with Brooklyn's lowest crime rate per resident, and little park space.
Borough Park at a glance
- Borough
- Brooklyn
- Livability score
- 6.7/10
- Borough rank (NYC Open Data guides)
- #5 of 28
- Safety verdict
- Much Safer Than Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 1,399
- ZIP codes
- 11219 (66%), 11204 (19%), 11218 (15%)Share of residential units, NYC PLUTO 26v2
- Subway stations
- 5 (Fort Hamilton Pkwy, 50 St, 55 St)
- Data updated
- 2026-09-26
Is Borough Park Safe?
Borough Park, Brooklyn scores 6.7/10 for overall livability, ranking #5 of 28 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data. Borough Park scores 6.7 composite with Brooklyn's lowest crime rate per resident, and little park space.
The livability score draws on HPD housing violations, subway access, NYC Parks' tree inventory and parks, and 311 noise complaints per resident from NYC Open Data, refreshed periodically rather than live. It does not include crime; NYPD complaint and shooting figures are on the Borough Park safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Borough Park address below for a block-level breakdown.
Score Overview
Vertical line = borough median. Scale: 0-10.
Practical measures HPD housing violations per residential lot over the last 12 months (higher = fewer violations). Borough medians are computed across DwellCheck's Brooklyn neighborhood guides.
Neighborhood Character
You'll find a dense neighborhood of two-family houses, walk-ups and, unusually for Brooklyn, condominiums: two-family houses are 38% of residential tax lots, walk-ups 29%, one-family houses 11%, mixed residential/commercial 10% and condominiums 9%. It is quiet by complaint counts, with noise complaints at 13.9 per 1,000 residents, labelled Low.
Five subway stations sit inside it: Fort Hamilton Pkwy and 62 St/New Utrecht Av on the D and N, 50 St and 55 St on the D, and 18 Av on the F. Commute scores 7.5/10.
Parks are its weak point. Four NYC Parks properties sit inside the neighborhood, the largest being Dome Playground and DiGilio Playground, and the nearest to the center, Alben Square, is 689m away. DwellCheck rates Borough Park much safer than average: it has the lowest crime rate per resident of the 37 Brooklyn neighborhoods we track, and 1 shooting in 12 months kept the verdict from its top band.
Livability & Restoration
Trees
170 trees
Expected in a 200m circle (NYC Parks tree inventory) | Density: 5.9/10 (city percentile)
In Toronto, 10 more trees on a city block went with a rise in self-rated health comparable to being 7 years younger (Kardan et al., 2015, Scientific Reports). In a cross-sectional study of London boroughs, each additional street tree per km of street went with 1.18 fewer antidepressant prescriptions per 1,000 residents (Taylor et al., 2015, Landscape and Urban Planning).
Park Access
4 parks
NYC Parks properties inside the neighborhood | largest: Dome Playground | nearest to the center: Alben Square, 689m | 3 nearest average 851m from the neighborhood's center
Acoustic Quality
7/10
Noise proxy score (higher = quieter)
Environmental noise exposure increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease; WHO's night-noise guidelines call average outdoor night noise above 55 dB increasingly dangerous for public health (Basner et al., 2014, The Lancet).
What is the ART Score?
ART stands for Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989) — the framework environmental psychologists use to measure whether a place helps your brain recover from mental fatigue, or pushes it deeper into overload. Cities deplete directed attention (the effortful focus you use at work); exposure to restorative environments replenishes it.
DwellCheck uses the idea in two separate places, and they measure different things. The neighborhood ART score below comes from neighborhood-wide data: up to 5 points from tree density (a city percentile) and up to 5 from how few 311 noise complaints there are per resident. An address report has no ART score. It runs the Wellness checks below, and their points go into the address’s overall score.
More than a point above the Brooklyn median: denser trees, fewer noise complaints per resident, or both.
What an address report checks instead (Wellness)
- ±Sensory environment. A calm score minus a busy score, each starting at 50. Busy: a firehouse within 100m (+15) or 200m (+8), and 311 noise complaints within 200m over 6 months (15+ adds 5, 40+ adds 12, 80+ adds 20, and 3 more at 20+ complaints that include vehicle or street noise). Calm: a library (+15), community garden (+12) or public plaza or atrium (POPS; +15 indoor, +8 outdoor) within 200m, and a park within 300m (+10; +15 at 1+ acre; +20 at 5+ acres). A difference of +20 or more adds 8 points; −10 to −29 costs 2; −30 or less costs 4. Bars, museums, tourists and foot traffic are not counted.
- +Third places (Oldenburg, 1989). Public libraries, public plazas and atriums (POPS) and community gardens within 400m: 1–2 add 5 points, 3 or more add 10. Cafés and community centers are not counted. In a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies, loneliness or social isolation went with a 29% higher risk of incident coronary heart disease (Valtorta et al., 2016, Heart).
- 0Street vitality (Jacobs, 1961). Permitted block parties, farmers markets and similar community events in the borough over the past 12 months. The event data has no coordinates, so this is a borough-wide count shown for context. It doesn’t change the score.
Health mechanism. The theory holds that natural settings let directed attention recover. The evidence is mixed: a systematic review of 31 studies (Ohly et al., 2016, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B) found that time in natural environments improved 3 of 13 pooled attention measures (Digit Span Forward, Digit Span Backward and Trail Making Test B) and showed no marked benefit on the other 10.
Theoretical foundations. Kaplan & Kaplan (1989), The Experience of Nature; Jacobs (1961), The Death and Life of Great American Cities; Oldenburg (1989), The Great Good Place.
Transit & Commute
Subway Stations
Commute Score
7.5/10
Borough median: 5.5/10
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
170
Trees expected in a 200m circle
Tree Density
5.9/10
1,356 trees per km² in NYC Parks' tree inventory (street and park trees); city percentile, 1 = sparsest
Largest Parks In or Near the Neighborhood
- Dome Playground
- DiGilio Playground
- Park
- Alben Square
Nearest to the neighborhood's center: Alben Square, about 689m. The 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 851m from the center (approximate park centers, not entrances).
Practical Living
Practical (HPD violations): 8/10 (Brooklyn median 7.5). It measures HPD housing violations per residential lot over the last 12 months (higher = fewer violations).
Building Mix (Residential Tax Lots)
Share of the 7,781 residential tax lots in the neighborhood by PLUTO building class (NYC Department of City Planning).
Who Borough Park Is For
Safety-first households
It has the lowest crime rate per resident of the 37 Brooklyn neighborhoods DwellCheck tracks, with 1,399 crimes in 12 months.
Subway commuters
Commute scores 7.5/10 against a borough median of 5.5, with stations on the D, N and F.
People who don't need a big park
Outdoor scores 4.1/10 against a Brooklyn median of 5.9.
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Lowest crime rate in Brooklyn
The lowest crime rate per resident of the 37 Brooklyn neighborhoods DwellCheck tracks; trend improving (-10.2%).
Few noise, rodent and sanitation complaints
Noise 13.9, rodents 1.1 and sanitation 3.7 complaints per 1,000 residents, all labelled Low.
Above-median livability
ART/Livability scores 6 against a borough median of 4.4; Practical 8 against 7.5.
Trade-offs
Little park space
Outdoor scores 4.1/10; the 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 851m from the neighborhood's center.
Moderate tree cover
Tree density 5.9/10, about 170 trees in a typical 200m circle.
A shooting lowered the verdict
1 shooting in 12 months keeps the verdict at much safer than average despite the lowest crime rate.
Score Any Address in Borough Park
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in Borough ParkFrequently Asked Questions about Borough Park
1Is Borough Park safe?
By NYPD data, Borough Park is rated "Much Safer Than Average", with the lowest crime rate per resident of the 37 Brooklyn neighborhoods we track. 1,399 crime incidents and 1 shooting incident over the past 12 months. See the safety page for the full breakdown.
2What is the average rent in Borough Park?
Rents in Borough Park, Brooklyn vary significantly by building and apartment type. Market pricing isn't aggregated for this neighborhood yet; use DwellCheck to research specific addresses for HPD registration, HPD violations, and other building-level records. DwellCheck doesn't show rent-stabilization status; request the apartment's rent history from DHCR for that.
3How is transit access in Borough Park?
Borough Park has a commute score of 7.5/10. 5 subway stations serve the area: Fort Hamilton Pkwy, 50 St, 55 St.
4What are the best streets in Borough Park?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Borough Park known for?
Borough Park sits in Brooklyn and ranks #5 of 28 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data on DwellCheck's livability score (6.7/10). It's served by 5 subway stations (Fort Hamilton Pkwy, 50 St, 55 St). Borough Park scores 6.7 composite with Brooklyn's lowest crime rate per resident, and little park space.
6What is it like to live in Borough Park?
DwellCheck scores Borough Park, Brooklyn from NYC Open Data on practical (HPD housing violations per residential lot over the last 12 months (higher = fewer violations)), commute (subway stations and lines in the neighborhood), ART (tree density and 311 noise complaints per resident), outdoor (trees and park proximity). Borough Park's composite is 6.7/10. Borough Park scores 6.7 composite with Brooklyn's lowest crime rate per resident, and little park space. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Borough Park address through DwellCheck.
7Where is Borough Park?
Borough Park is in Brooklyn, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the Borough Park Neighborhood Tabulation Area (BK1202), which falls in the Census tabulation area that approximates Brooklyn Community District 12 (Borough Park-Kensington). Its main ZIP codes are 11219, 11204 and 11218. Subway stations in the neighborhood include Fort Hamilton Pkwy, 50 St and 55 St.
8What ZIP code is Borough Park in?
Borough Park spans ZIP codes 11219 (66% of residential units), 11204 (19%) and 11218 (15%). Shares are of the 25,606 residential units in the Borough Park Neighborhood Tabulation Area (BK1202), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records. 1 other ZIP code holds under 5%.
9Can you walk around Borough Park at night?
Borough Park is classified as "Much Safer Than Average" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 1 shooting incident and 1,399 total crime incidents. Walking at night carries the same risk profile as anywhere in NYC: stay on commercial corridors with foot traffic, avoid empty side streets after midnight, and prefer subway lines that run 24/7.
10Is Borough Park dangerous?
By NYPD data, Borough Park is rated "Much Safer Than Average", with the lowest crime rate per resident of the 37 Brooklyn neighborhoods we track. 1,399 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
11What parts of Borough Park should I avoid?
NYPD complaint records carry approximate incident coordinates, but a neighborhood total can't tell you which blocks drive it, so we don't publish an "avoid this street" list. For a specific block, use DwellCheck's address-level safety score, which counts NYPD crime complaints within a 300m radius of the building over the latest 12 months of published data and compares that count with the borough average.
12Is Borough Park a good place to live?
Borough Park scores 6.7/10 for overall livability and has the lowest crime rate per resident of the 37 Brooklyn neighborhoods we track. Borough Park scores 6.7 composite with Brooklyn's lowest crime rate per resident, and little park space. Whether it's a good fit depends on what you weight: families, solo renters, and remote workers each prioritize different factors (noise, transit access, parks, building quality).
13What is the average DwellScore in Borough Park?
The composite score is 6.7. Commute (7.5), ART/Livability (6) and Practical (8) are above the Brooklyn medians of 5.5, 4.4 and 7.5; Outdoor (4.1) is below the median of 5.9.
14Is Borough Park safe?
DwellCheck rates it much safer than average. It has the lowest crime rate per resident of the 37 Brooklyn neighborhoods we track, with 1,399 crimes in 12 months and an improving trend (-10.2%); 1 shooting in that period caps the verdict below its top band.
15Which subway lines serve Borough Park?
The D at Fort Hamilton Pkwy, 50 St, 55 St and 62 St/New Utrecht Av, the N at Fort Hamilton Pkwy and 62 St/New Utrecht Av, and the F at 18 Av.
16What kind of housing is in Borough Park?
By residential tax lot (PLUTO): two-family houses 38%, walk-up apartments 29%, one-family houses 11%, mixed residential/commercial 10% and condominiums 9%.
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