Is Flatbush Safe? Brooklyn Livability, Crime & Rent
Flatbush scores 3.8: an established neighborhood undercut by a high housing-violation rate, distant parks, noise, and crime that is trending up.
Flatbush at a glance
- Borough
- Brooklyn
- Livability score
- 3.8/10
- Borough rank (NYC Open Data guides)
- #28 of 28
- Safety verdict
- Higher Than Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 4,256
- ZIP codes
- 11226 (77%), 11210 (22%)Share of residential units, NYC PLUTO 26v2
- Subway stations
- 2 (Parkside Av, Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College)
- Data updated
- 2026-09-14
Is Flatbush Safe?
Flatbush, Brooklyn scores 3.8/10 for overall livability, ranking #28 of 28 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data. Flatbush scores 3.8: an established neighborhood undercut by a high housing-violation rate, distant parks, noise, and crime that is trending up.
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 Flatbush safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Flatbush 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
Flatbush is a neighborhood where the tree density rates 5.8/10. You'll find an average of 169 trees within every 200 meters. Residential tax lots mix one-family (27%) and two-family (24%) houses with walk-up (18%) and elevator (13%) apartment buildings, creating variable street-wall heights. Parks are distant: the nearest, Hot Spot Tot Lot, is about 1,219 meters from the neighborhood's center, and the 3 nearest average 1,329 meters. The Q train at Parkside Av and the 2 and 5 at Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College provide your transit spine. What you'll notice most: strong Caribbean cultural presence, established residential character—and noise complaints (7,651 over 12 months) that are high.
Livability & Restoration
Trees
169 trees
Expected in a 200m circle (NYC Parks tree inventory) | Density: 5.8/10 (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
2 parks
NYC Parks properties inside the neighborhood | largest: Hot Spot Tot Lot | nearest to the center: Hot Spot Tot Lot, 1219m | 3 nearest average 1329m from the neighborhood's center
Acoustic Quality
2/10
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 below the Brooklyn median: sparser trees, more 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
6/10
Borough median: 5.5/10
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
169
Trees expected in a 200m circle
Tree Density
5.8/10
1,345 trees per km² in NYC Parks' tree inventory (street and park trees); city percentile, 1 = sparsest
Largest Parks In or Near the Neighborhood
- Hot Spot Tot Lot
- Umma Park
Nearest to the neighborhood's center: Hot Spot Tot Lot, about 1219m. The 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 1329m from the center (approximate park centers, not entrances).
Practical Living
Practical (HPD violations): 3/10 (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 2,437 residential tax lots in the neighborhood by PLUTO building class (NYC Department of City Planning).
Who Flatbush Is For
Transit riders on the Q, 2 and 5 lines
Two stations—Parkside Av (Q) and Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College (2, 5)—give a commute score of 6, just above the borough median of 5.5
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Commute score above the borough median
Commute score of 6 vs. borough median 5.5; two stations (Parkside Av, Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College)
Trade-offs
High noise complaints
7,651 noise complaints over 12 months—substantially higher than typical neighborhoods
Crime trending up
Crime is up 6.9% over the past 12 months, with a lower crime rate per resident than 36% of Brooklyn neighborhoods
Below-median ART/Livability score
ART/Livability score of 3.4 while borough median is 4.4
Score Any Address in Flatbush
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in FlatbushFrequently Asked Questions about Flatbush
1Is Flatbush safe?
By NYPD data, Flatbush is rated "Higher Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 36% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. 4,256 crime incidents and 7 shooting incidents over the past 12 months. See the safety page for the full breakdown.
2What is the average rent in Flatbush?
Rents in Flatbush, 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 Flatbush?
Flatbush has a commute score of 6/10. 2 subway stations serve the area: Parkside Av, Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College.
4What are the best streets in Flatbush?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Flatbush known for?
Flatbush sits in Brooklyn and ranks #28 of 28 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data on DwellCheck's livability score (3.8/10). It's served by 2 subway stations (Parkside Av, Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College). Flatbush scores 3.8: an established neighborhood undercut by a high housing-violation rate, distant parks, noise, and crime that is trending up.
6What is it like to live in Flatbush?
DwellCheck scores Flatbush, 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). Flatbush's composite is 3.8/10. Flatbush scores 3.8: an established neighborhood undercut by a high housing-violation rate, distant parks, noise, and crime that is trending up. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Flatbush address through DwellCheck.
7Where is Flatbush?
Flatbush is in Brooklyn, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the Flatbush Neighborhood Tabulation Area (BK1401), which falls in the Census tabulation area that approximates Brooklyn Community District 14 (Flatbush-Midwood). Its main ZIP codes are 11226 and 11210. Subway stations in the neighborhood include Parkside Av and Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College.
8What ZIP code is Flatbush in?
Flatbush spans ZIP codes 11226 (77% of residential units) and 11210 (22%). Shares are of the 28,964 residential units in the Flatbush Neighborhood Tabulation Area (BK1401), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records. 1 other ZIP code holds under 5%.
9Can you walk around Flatbush at night?
Flatbush is classified as "Higher Than Average" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 7 shooting incidents and 4,256 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 Flatbush dangerous?
By NYPD data, Flatbush is rated "Higher Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 36% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. 4,256 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
11What parts of Flatbush 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 Flatbush a good place to live?
Flatbush scores 3.8/10 for overall livability and has a lower crime rate per resident than 36% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. Flatbush scores 3.8: an established neighborhood undercut by a high housing-violation rate, distant parks, noise, and crime that is trending up. 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 Flatbush?
The composite score is 3.8, the lowest of the 28 Brooklyn neighborhoods we score from NYC Open Data. Strength lies in Commute (6), weakness in Outdoor (3.1) and Practical (3).
14How safe is Flatbush?
Flatbush has a lower crime rate per resident than 36% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. Reported crimes totaled 4,256 over 12 months, and the crime trend is up 6.9%.
15How is transit access?
Commute score of 6 (vs. borough median 5.5). The Q train at Parkside Av and the 2 and 5 at Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College are your transit lines.
16How much green space is nearby?
Flatbush has a 5.8/10 tree density rating with an average of 169 trees per 200m. The 3 nearest parks average 1,329m from the neighborhood's center (largest: Hot Spot Tot Lot, Umma Park).
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