Is Flushing Safe? Queens Livability, Crime & Rent
Flushing scores 4.0—a below-median Queens neighborhood anchored by the 7 train terminus, hampered by noise, high crime, and long commutes to Manhattan job centers.
Flushing at a glance
- Borough
- Queens
- Livability score
- 4/10
- Borough rank (NYC Open Data guides)
- #27 of 27
- Safety verdict
- High Activity Area
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 4,537
- ZIP codes
- 11355 (58%), 11354 (42%)Share of residential units, NYC PLUTO 26v2
- Subway stations
- 1 (Flushing-Main St)
- Data updated
- 2026-09-14
Is Flushing Safe?
Flushing, Queens scores 4/10 for overall livability, ranking #27 of 27 Queens neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data. Flushing scores 4.0—a below-median Queens neighborhood anchored by the 7 train terminus, hampered by noise, high crime, and long commutes to Manhattan job centers.
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 Flushing safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Flushing 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 Queens neighborhood guides.
Neighborhood Character
Flushing is dense and perpetually busy. Trees are sparse: an average of 100 within 200 meters of any address, a tree density of 1.6/10. The neighborhood centers on the Flushing-Main Street 7 train terminus, a major transit hub that feeds constant foot traffic through Korean restaurants, Chinatown markets, and the edge of Flushing Meadows Park. Parks include Margaret I. Carman Green with its historic Weeping Beech, Colden Playground, and Bowne Playground; the 3 nearest parks average 343 meters from the neighborhood's center. Residential tax lots mix walk-up apartment buildings (29%), two-family houses (21%), condominiums (14%) and elevator buildings (11%). You'll experience high activity—a lower crime rate per resident than 8% of Queens neighborhoods—and 4,594 noise complaints recorded, reflecting the crowded, commercial character.
Livability & Restoration
Trees
100 trees
Expected in a 200m circle (NYC Parks tree inventory) | Density: 1.6/10 (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
8 parks
NYC Parks properties inside the neighborhood | largest: Margaret I. Carman Green - Weeping Beech | nearest to the center: James A. Bland Playground, 238m | 3 nearest average 343m 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 Queens 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
3/10
Borough median: 3.5/10
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
100
Trees expected in a 200m circle
Tree Density
1.6/10
793 trees per km² in NYC Parks' tree inventory (street and park trees); city percentile, 1 = sparsest
Largest Parks In or Near the Neighborhood
- Margaret I. Carman Green - Weeping Beech
- Colden Playground
- Bowne Playground
- Maple Playground
- Daniel Carter Beard Mall
Nearest to the neighborhood's center: James A. Bland Playground, about 238m. The 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 343m from the center (approximate park centers, not entrances).
Practical Living
Practical (HPD violations): 5/10 (Queens median 8). It measures HPD housing violations per residential lot over the last 12 months (higher = fewer violations).
Building Mix (Residential Tax Lots)
Share of the 1,543 residential tax lots in the neighborhood by PLUTO building class (NYC Department of City Planning).
Who Flushing Is For
Culture and food seekers
Flushing's established Chinatown and Korean cuisine corridor signals strong neighborhood character and dining variety; the ART/Livability score, built on trees and quiet, is low (2.3 vs. a 4.1 borough median).
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Major transit hub with single-line access
Flushing-Main Street 7 train terminus eliminates transfer friction for commuters heading downtown or across Queens
Low rodent complaints
Only 95 rodent complaints recorded (Low category)
Trade-offs
High crime activity
Total 12-month crimes of 4,537 give a lower crime rate per resident than 8% of Queens neighborhoods; the total fell 16.2%
Moderate noise complaints
4,594 noise complaints recorded—reflective of dense commercial corridors, transit use, and foot traffic; expect street-level sound throughout the day
Weak commute score for outer-borough residents
Commute score of 3 (vs. borough median 3.5) indicates long travel times to major job centers outside Queens; the 7 train helps but doesn't fully close the gap
Score Any Address in Flushing
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in FlushingFrequently Asked Questions about Flushing
1Is Flushing safe?
By NYPD data, Flushing is rated "High Activity Area", with a lower crime rate per resident than 8% of Queens neighborhoods. 4,537 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 Flushing?
Rents in Flushing, Queens 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 Flushing?
Flushing has a commute score of 3/10. 1 subway stations serve the area: Flushing-Main St.
4What are the best streets in Flushing?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Flushing known for?
Flushing sits in Queens and ranks #27 of 27 Queens neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data on DwellCheck's livability score (4/10). It's served by 1 subway station (Flushing-Main St). Flushing scores 4.0—a below-median Queens neighborhood anchored by the 7 train terminus, hampered by noise, high crime, and long commutes to Manhattan job centers.
6What is it like to live in Flushing?
DwellCheck scores Flushing, Queens 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). Flushing's composite is 4/10. Flushing scores 4.0—a below-median Queens neighborhood anchored by the 7 train terminus, hampered by noise, high crime, and long commutes to Manhattan job centers. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Flushing address through DwellCheck.
7Where is Flushing?
Flushing is in Queens, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the Flushing-Willets Point Neighborhood Tabulation Area (QN0707), which falls in the Census tabulation area that approximates Queens Community District 7 (Flushing-Murray Hill-Whitestone). Its main ZIP codes are 11355 and 11354. Subway stations in the neighborhood include Flushing-Main St.
8What ZIP code is Flushing in?
Flushing spans ZIP codes 11355 (58% of residential units) and 11354 (42%). Shares are of the 30,124 residential units in the Flushing-Willets Point Neighborhood Tabulation Area (QN0707), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records. 1 other ZIP code holds under 5%.
9Can you walk around Flushing at night?
Flushing is classified as "High Activity Area" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 1 shooting incident and 4,537 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 Flushing dangerous?
By NYPD data, Flushing is rated "High Activity Area", with a lower crime rate per resident than 8% of Queens neighborhoods. 4,537 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
11What parts of Flushing 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 Flushing a good place to live?
Flushing scores 4/10 for overall livability and has a lower crime rate per resident than 8% of Queens neighborhoods. Flushing scores 4.0—a below-median Queens neighborhood anchored by the 7 train terminus, hampered by noise, high crime, and long commutes to Manhattan job centers. 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 Flushing?
The composite score is 4.0 out of 10. It's held back by weak Commute (3.0) and Practical (5.0) scores, with ART/Livability (2.3) far below the borough median. This makes Flushing the lowest-scoring of the 27 Queens neighborhoods we rank, with sharp trade-offs between activity and travel time.
14Why is the Commute score so low when there's a major transit hub?
The Flushing-Main Street 7 train provides direct access to downtown, but the 7's limited reach and Queens' geographic distance from major employment centers (Midtown, Downtown, Long Island City) create longer overall commute times. A score of 3 reflects a single station and a single line inside the neighborhood.
15Is Flushing safe?
Flushing has a lower crime rate per resident than 8% of Queens neighborhoods. Recorded 12-month crimes total 4,537, down 16.2% year-over-year.
16What's the building stock like?
Walk-up apartment buildings (29% of residential tax lots) and two-family houses (21%) lead, with condominiums at 14%. This dense, vertical stock creates an urban canyon feel alongside 4,594 noise complaints. NYC City Planning lists 1,543 residential tax lots in the neighborhood.
Related Guides
NYC Building Complaints Lookup
Check any building's HPD, DOB, and 311 complaint history before signing.
30 NYC Apartment Red Flags
What to watch for at the viewing, in the listing, and on the landlord.
How to Check Your NYC Landlord
A 5-step free lookup: ACRIS ownership, HPD violations, DOB complaints, lawsuits.
Is My Apartment Rent-Stabilized?
Request a free DHCR rent history and verify stabilization status in 24-72 hours.