Is Lincoln Square Safe? Manhattan Livability, Crime & Rent
Lincoln Square scores 6.5—a neighborhood where green space and few housing violations compensate for noise, best suited to professionals and arts workers.
Lincoln Square at a glance
- Borough
- Manhattan
- Livability score
- 6.5/10
- Borough rank (NYC Open Data guides)
- #9 of 33
- Safety verdict
- Safer Than Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 3,462
- Subway stations
- 3 (72 St, 59 St-Columbus Circle, 66 St-Lincoln Center)
- Data updated
- 2026-09-14
Is Lincoln Square Safe?
Lincoln Square, Manhattan scores 6.5/10 for overall livability, ranking #9 of 33 Manhattan neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data. Lincoln Square scores 6.5—a neighborhood where green space and few housing violations compensate for noise, best suited to professionals and arts workers.
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 Lincoln Square safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Lincoln Square 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 Manhattan neighborhood guides.
Neighborhood Character
Lincoln Square feels like the Upper West Side's more purposeful cousin—tree-lined blocks where you're as likely to pass someone in rehearsal clothes heading to Lincoln Center as you are a parent with a stroller. The neighborhood clusters around the performing arts complex, which shapes everything, and its tracked buildings are all high-rise. Building character skews toward high-rise residential complexes, creating a neighborhood that feels simultaneously established and still settling into its own identity.
Livability & Restoration
Trees
221 trees
Expected in a 200m circle (NYC Parks tree inventory) | Density: 8.5/10 (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: Lincoln Center Plaza | nearest to the center: Samuel N. Bennerson 2nd Playground, 141m | 3 nearest average 222m 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.
Within a point of the Manhattan 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
Commute Score
7/10
Borough median: 7/10
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
221
Trees expected in a 200m circle
Tree Density
8.5/10
1,762 trees per km² in NYC Parks' tree inventory (street and park trees); city percentile, 1 = sparsest
Largest Parks In or Near the Neighborhood
- Lincoln Center Plaza
- Damrosch Park
- Matthew P. Sapolin Playground
- Samuel N. Bennerson 2nd Playground
- Gertrude Ederle Recreation Center
Nearest to the neighborhood's center: Samuel N. Bennerson 2nd Playground, about 141m. The 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 222m from the center (approximate park centers, not entrances).
Practical Living
Practical (HPD violations): 7/10 (Manhattan median 6). It measures HPD housing violations per residential lot over the last 12 months (higher = fewer violations).
Building Mix (Residential Tax Lots)
Share of the 790 residential tax lots in the neighborhood by PLUTO building class (NYC Department of City Planning).
Who Lincoln Square Is For
Professionals with Manhattan-wide commutes
Commute score of 7/10 and seven subway lines (1, 2, 3, A, B, C, D) at three stations give you access downtown, midtown, and across the city without relying on a single line
Arts workers and performing artists
Living steps from Lincoln Center, Juilliard, and the performing arts infrastructure means your workplace is your neighborhood
Families seeking green space
221 trees within 200m and the 3 nearest parks averaging 222m from the neighborhood's center provide outdoor access
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Dense trees
221 trees within 200m with 8.5/10 tree density
Few housing violations
Practical score of 7/10 (borough median 6.0) reflects a low rate of HPD housing violations per residential building
Trade-offs
Significant noise complaints relative to Manhattan baseline
Acoustic quality rates 2/10 (lower = more complaints); street-level activity tied to Lincoln Center events, plus proximity to major avenues generates sustained ambient noise
Score Any Address in Lincoln Square
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in Lincoln SquareFrequently Asked Questions about Lincoln Square
1Is Lincoln Square safe?
By NYPD data, Lincoln Square is rated "Safer Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 73% of Manhattan neighborhoods. 3,462 crime incidents and 2 shooting incidents over the past 12 months. See the safety page for the full breakdown.
2What is the average rent in Lincoln Square?
Rents in Lincoln Square, Manhattan 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 Lincoln Square?
Lincoln Square has a commute score of 7/10. 3 subway stations serve the area: 72 St, 59 St-Columbus Circle, 66 St-Lincoln Center.
4What are the best streets in Lincoln Square?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Lincoln Square known for?
Lincoln Square sits in Manhattan and ranks #9 of 33 Manhattan neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data on DwellCheck's livability score (6.5/10). It's served by 3 subway stations (72 St, 59 St-Columbus Circle, 66 St-Lincoln Center). Lincoln Square scores 6.5—a neighborhood where green space and few housing violations compensate for noise, best suited to professionals and arts workers.
6What is it like to live in Lincoln Square?
DwellCheck scores Lincoln Square, Manhattan 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). Lincoln Square's composite is 6.5/10. Lincoln Square scores 6.5—a neighborhood where green space and few housing violations compensate for noise, best suited to professionals and arts workers. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Lincoln Square address through DwellCheck.
7Where is Lincoln Square?
Lincoln Square is in Manhattan, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the Upper West Side-Lincoln Square Neighborhood Tabulation Area (MN0701), which falls in the Census tabulation area that approximates Manhattan Community District 7 (Upper West Side). Its main ZIP codes are 10023, 10069 and 10019. Subway stations in the neighborhood include 72 St, 59 St-Columbus Circle and 66 St-Lincoln Center.
8What ZIP code is Lincoln Square in?
Lincoln Square spans ZIP codes 10023 (86% of residential units), 10069 (9%) and 10019 (5%). Shares are of the 45,384 residential units in the Upper West Side-Lincoln Square Neighborhood Tabulation Area (MN0701), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records.
9Can you walk around Lincoln Square at night?
Lincoln Square is classified as "Safer Than Average" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 2 shooting incidents and 3,462 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 Lincoln Square dangerous?
By NYPD data, Lincoln Square is rated "Safer Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 73% of Manhattan neighborhoods. 3,462 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
11What parts of Lincoln Square 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 Lincoln Square a good place to live?
Lincoln Square scores 6.5/10 for overall livability and has a lower crime rate per resident than 73% of Manhattan neighborhoods. Lincoln Square scores 6.5—a neighborhood where green space and few housing violations compensate for noise, best suited to professionals and arts workers. 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 Lincoln Square?
6.5 composite, with Practical (7/10), Commute (7/10) and Outdoor (7.3/10) as primary strengths, offset by an acoustic quality of 2/10 and an ART/Livability score of 4.8/10
14Which subway lines serve Lincoln Square and how many options do you have?
Seven lines (1, 2, 3, A, B, C, D) across three stations: 59 St-Columbus Circle (5 lines), 72 St (5 lines), and 66 St-Lincoln Center (1 line)
15How much green space is actually near Lincoln Square?
221 trees within 200m at 8.5/10 tree density, plus parks including Lincoln Center Plaza and Damrosch Park (the 3 nearest parks average 222m from the neighborhood's center)
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