Is Flatlands Safe? Brooklyn Livability, Crime & Rent
Flatlands scores 5.4 composite: well-kept houses and parks, with no subway station of its own.
Flatlands at a glance
- Borough
- Brooklyn
- Livability score
- 5.4/10
- Borough rank (NYC Open Data guides)
- #25 of 28
- Safety verdict
- Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 3,268
- ZIP codes
- 11234 (68%), 11210 (31%)Share of residential units, NYC PLUTO 26v2
- Subway stations
- 0
- Data updated
- 2026-09-26
Is Flatlands Safe?
Flatlands, Brooklyn scores 5.4/10 for overall livability, ranking #25 of 28 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data. Flatlands scores 5.4 composite: well-kept houses and parks, with no subway station of its own.
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 Flatlands safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Flatlands 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 neighborhood of houses: one-family houses are 56% of residential tax lots and two-family houses 36%, with walk-ups at 4%. Housing upkeep is strong, with Practical at 9/10 against a borough median of 7.5.
There are 10 NYC Parks properties inside the neighborhood, the largest being Amersfort Park and Jacob Joffe Fields; the nearest to the center is the East 43rd Street Community Garden, 198m away. Tree density is lower, 3.6/10, about 143 trees in a typical 200m circle.
No subway station sits inside the neighborhood's boundary, so commute scores 1/10. DwellCheck rates Flatlands about average on safety: a lower crime rate per resident than 50% of Brooklyn neighborhoods, with an improving trend (-7.6%).
Livability & Restoration
Trees
143 trees
Expected in a 200m circle (NYC Parks tree inventory) | Density: 3.6/10 (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
10 parks
NYC Parks properties inside the neighborhood | largest: Amersfort Park | nearest to the center: East 43rd Street Community Garden, 198m | 3 nearest average 439m from the neighborhood's center
Acoustic Quality
5/10
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.
Within a point of the Brooklyn median.
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
No transit data available
Commute Score
1/10
Borough median: 5.5/10
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
143
Trees expected in a 200m circle
Tree Density
3.6/10
1,136 trees per km² in NYC Parks' tree inventory (street and park trees); city percentile, 1 = sparsest
Largest Parks In or Near the Neighborhood
- Amersfort Park
- Jacob Joffe Fields
- Power Playground
- Fox Playground
- Glenwood Playground
Nearest to the neighborhood's center: East 43rd Street Community Garden, about 198m. The 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 439m from the center (approximate park centers, not entrances).
Practical Living
Practical (HPD violations): 9/10 (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 10,843 residential tax lots in the neighborhood by PLUTO building class (NYC Department of City Planning).
Who Flatlands Is For
Homeowners and house renters
One-family (56%) and two-family (36%) houses dominate the residential tax lots; Practical scores 9/10.
Drivers and bus riders
Commute scores 1/10 because no subway station is inside the neighborhood.
People who use playing fields
Outdoor scores 6.3/10 against a Brooklyn median of 5.9, with Amersfort Park and Jacob Joffe Fields inside the neighborhood.
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Few housing violations
Practical scores 9/10 against a borough median of 7.5.
Parks above the borough
Outdoor 6.3/10; the 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 439m from the center.
Crime falling
3,268 crimes in 12 months; trend improving (-7.6%).
Trade-offs
No subway inside the neighborhood
Commute scores 1/10 against a borough median of 5.5.
Few trees
Tree density 3.6/10; ART/Livability 3.8 against a borough median of 4.4.
Average safety
A lower crime rate per resident than 50% of Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Score Any Address in Flatlands
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in FlatlandsFrequently Asked Questions about Flatlands
1Is Flatlands safe?
By NYPD data, Flatlands is rated "Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 50% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. 3,268 crime incidents and 3 shooting incidents over the past 12 months. See the safety page for the full breakdown.
2What is the average rent in Flatlands?
Rents in Flatlands, 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 Flatlands?
Flatlands has a commute score of 1/10. It counts the subway stations inside the neighborhood and the lines they serve. Station-level mapping for this neighborhood isn't available yet.
4What are the best streets in Flatlands?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Flatlands known for?
Flatlands sits in Brooklyn and ranks #25 of 28 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data on DwellCheck's livability score (5.4/10). It's served by 0 subway stations. Flatlands scores 5.4 composite: well-kept houses and parks, with no subway station of its own.
6What is it like to live in Flatlands?
DwellCheck scores Flatlands, 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). Flatlands's composite is 5.4/10. Flatlands scores 5.4 composite: well-kept houses and parks, with no subway station of its own. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Flatlands address through DwellCheck.
7Where is Flatlands?
Flatlands is in Brooklyn, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the Flatlands Neighborhood Tabulation Area (BK1801), which falls in the Census tabulation area that approximates Brooklyn Community District 18 (Canarsie-Flatlands). Its main ZIP codes are 11234 and 11210.
8What ZIP code is Flatlands in?
Flatlands spans ZIP codes 11234 (68% of residential units) and 11210 (31%). Shares are of the 21,713 residential units in the Flatlands Neighborhood Tabulation Area (BK1801), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records. 3 other ZIP codes each hold under 5%.
9Can you walk around Flatlands at night?
Flatlands is classified as "Average" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 3 shooting incidents and 3,268 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 Flatlands dangerous?
By NYPD data, Flatlands is rated "Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 50% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. 3,268 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
11What parts of Flatlands 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 Flatlands a good place to live?
Flatlands scores 5.4/10 for overall livability and has a lower crime rate per resident than 50% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. Flatlands scores 5.4 composite: well-kept houses and parks, with no subway station of its own. 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 Flatlands?
The composite score is 5.4. Practical (9) and Outdoor (6.3) are above the Brooklyn medians of 7.5 and 5.9; ART/Livability (3.8) and Commute (1) are below the medians of 4.4 and 5.5.
14Is Flatlands safe?
DwellCheck rates it about average: it has a lower crime rate per resident than 50% of Brooklyn neighborhoods, with 3,268 crimes and 3 shootings in 12 months, and an improving trend (-7.6%).
15Is there a subway in Flatlands?
No subway station sits inside the neighborhood's boundary, which is why its commute score is 1/10.
16What kind of housing is in Flatlands?
By residential tax lot (PLUTO): one-family houses 56%, two-family houses 36%, walk-up apartments 4% and mixed residential/commercial 3%.
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