Is Starrett City Safe? Brooklyn Livability, Crime & Rent
Starrett City scores 4.2 composite: no subway, few trees and a much-higher-than-average crime rate, though crime is falling.
Starrett City at a glance
- Borough
- Brooklyn
- Livability score
- 4.2/10
- Borough rank (NYC Open Data guides)
- #27 of 28
- Safety verdict
- Much Higher Than Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 1,749
- ZIP codes
- 11239 (95%)Share of residential units, NYC PLUTO 26v2
- Subway stations
- 0
- Data updated
- 2026-09-26
Is Starrett City Safe?
Starrett City, Brooklyn scores 4.2/10 for overall livability, ranking #27 of 28 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data. Starrett City scores 4.2 composite: no subway, few trees and a much-higher-than-average crime rate, though crime is falling.
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 Starrett City safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Starrett City 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
DwellCheck measures Starrett City over the Spring Creek-Starrett City NTA, which also takes in nearby blocks of houses. By residential tax lot it is mostly houses, one-family 54% and two-family 28%, with elevator apartments at 3%. Lot shares are not shares of homes: a tower complex such as Spring Creek Towers, listed among its highlights, sits on few lots.
Five NYC Parks properties sit inside the NTA; Spring Creek Park is the largest and the nearest to the center, 264m away. Tree density is low, 2.2/10, about 114 trees in a typical 200m circle.
No subway station sits inside the boundary, so commute scores 1/10. DwellCheck's safety verdict is much higher than average: a lower crime rate per resident than 11% of Brooklyn neighborhoods, though crime is improving (-10.4%).
Livability & Restoration
Trees
114 trees
Expected in a 200m circle (NYC Parks tree inventory) | Density: 2.2/10 (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
5 parks
NYC Parks properties inside the neighborhood | largest: Spring Creek Park | nearest to the center: Spring Creek Park, 264m | 3 nearest average 502m from the neighborhood's center
Acoustic Quality
4/10
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
No transit data available
Commute Score
1/10
Borough median: 5.5/10
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
114
Trees expected in a 200m circle
Tree Density
2.2/10
909 trees per km² in NYC Parks' tree inventory (street and park trees); city percentile, 1 = sparsest
Largest Parks In or Near the Neighborhood
- Spring Creek Park
- Park
- Berriman Playground
Nearest to the neighborhood's center: Spring Creek Park, about 264m. The 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 502m from the center (approximate park centers, not entrances).
Practical Living
Practical (HPD violations): 7/10 (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 566 residential tax lots in the neighborhood by PLUTO building class (NYC Department of City Planning).
Who Starrett City Is For
Drivers and bus riders
Commute scores 1/10: no subway station is inside the neighborhood.
Residents of the Spring Creek Towers complex
The figures cover the whole Spring Creek-Starrett City NTA, not only the complex.
People who want few rodent and sanitation complaints
Rodent complaints are 0.9 and sanitation 3.2 per 1,000 residents, both labelled Low.
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Few rodent and sanitation complaints
15 rodent complaints (0.9 per 1,000 residents) and 55 sanitation complaints (3.2 per 1,000 residents), both labelled Low.
Crime falling
1,749 crimes in 12 months; trend improving (-10.4%).
A park near the center
Spring Creek Park, the largest NYC Parks property inside the NTA, is 264m from its center.
Trade-offs
No subway inside the neighborhood
Commute scores 1/10 against a borough median of 5.5.
Crime rate per resident is high
A lower crime rate per resident than 11% of Brooklyn neighborhoods; 3 shootings in 12 months.
Few trees
Tree density 2.2/10; ART/Livability 2.6 against a borough median of 4.4.
Score Any Address in Starrett City
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in Starrett CityFrequently Asked Questions about Starrett City
1Is Starrett City safe?
By NYPD data, Starrett City is rated "Much Higher Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 11% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. 1,749 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 Starrett City?
Rents in Starrett City, 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 Starrett City?
Starrett City 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 Starrett City?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Starrett City known for?
Starrett City sits in Brooklyn and ranks #27 of 28 Brooklyn neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data on DwellCheck's livability score (4.2/10). It's served by 0 subway stations. Starrett City scores 4.2 composite: no subway, few trees and a much-higher-than-average crime rate, though crime is falling.
6What is it like to live in Starrett City?
DwellCheck scores Starrett City, 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). Starrett City's composite is 4.2/10. Starrett City scores 4.2 composite: no subway, few trees and a much-higher-than-average crime rate, though crime is falling. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Starrett City address through DwellCheck.
7Where is Starrett City?
Starrett City is in Brooklyn, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the Spring Creek-Starrett City Neighborhood Tabulation Area (BK0504), which falls in the Census tabulation area that approximates Brooklyn Community District 5 (East New York-Cypress Hills). Its main ZIP code is 11239.
8What ZIP code is Starrett City in?
Starrett City is in ZIP code 11239 (95% of residential units). Shares are of the 15,178 residential units in the Spring Creek-Starrett City Neighborhood Tabulation Area (BK0504), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records. 1 other ZIP code holds under 5%.
9Can you walk around Starrett City at night?
Starrett City is classified as "Much Higher Than Average" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 3 shooting incidents and 1,749 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 Starrett City dangerous?
By NYPD data, Starrett City is rated "Much Higher Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 11% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. 1,749 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
11What parts of Starrett City 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 Starrett City a good place to live?
Starrett City scores 4.2/10 for overall livability and has a lower crime rate per resident than 11% of Brooklyn neighborhoods. Starrett City scores 4.2 composite: no subway, few trees and a much-higher-than-average crime rate, though crime is falling. 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 Starrett City?
The composite score is 4.2. Every dimension is at or below the Brooklyn median: Commute 1 (median 5.5), ART/Livability 2.6 (4.4), Outdoor 4.9 (5.9) and Practical 7 (7.5).
14Is Starrett City safe?
DwellCheck rates it much higher than average: it has a lower crime rate per resident than 11% of Brooklyn neighborhoods, with 1,749 crimes and 3 shootings in 12 months. The trend is improving (-10.4%).
15Is there a subway in Starrett City?
No subway station sits inside the Spring Creek-Starrett City NTA, which is why its commute score is 1/10.
16What area does DwellCheck measure as Starrett City?
The 2020 NTA Spring Creek-Starrett City, which includes the Spring Creek Towers complex and nearby blocks of one- and two-family houses.
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