Is Rego Park Safe? Queens Livability, Crime & Rent
Rego Park is a practical high-rise neighborhood with solid transit access but lengthy commutes and modest outdoor amenities—a 5.7 composite score reflects reliable livability without standout appeal.
Rego Park at a glance
- Borough
- Queens
- Livability score
- 5.7/10
- Borough rank (NYC Open Data guides)
- #17 of 27
- Safety verdict
- Safer Than Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 1,273
- ZIP codes
- 11374 (98%)Share of residential units, NYC PLUTO 26v2
- Subway stations
- 1 (63 Dr-Rego Park)
- Data updated
- 2026-09-14
Is Rego Park Safe?
Rego Park, Queens scores 5.7/10 for overall livability, ranking #17 of 27 Queens neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data. Rego Park is a practical high-rise neighborhood with solid transit access but lengthy commutes and modest outdoor amenities—a 5.7 composite score reflects reliable livability without standout appeal.
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 Rego Park safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Rego Park 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
Rego Park is a transit-connected neighborhood of houses and apartment towers: one-family houses sit on 60% of residential tax lots, with elevator apartment buildings on 3% of lots. You'll walk past an average of 164 trees within 200 meters, a mid-range tree density of 5.2/10, amid the vertical architecture. Queens Boulevard anchors the retail experience with established commercial corridors, while the M and R trains at 63 Drive-Rego Park station position you for direct access across the city. The neighborhood has green anchors — Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center, The Painter's Playground, Horace Harding Playground, and Remsen Family Cemetery — and the 3 nearest parks average 572 meters from the neighborhood's center, though at 5.6/10 on outdoor access, the park network is modest compared to the borough median.
Livability & Restoration
Trees
164 trees
Expected in a 200m circle (NYC Parks tree inventory) | Density: 5.2/10 (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: Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center | nearest to the center: Fleetwood Triangle, 170m | 3 nearest average 572m 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 Queens 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
3.5/10
Borough median: 3.5/10
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
164
Trees expected in a 200m circle
Tree Density
5.2/10
1,303 trees per km² in NYC Parks' tree inventory (street and park trees); city percentile, 1 = sparsest
Largest Parks In or Near the Neighborhood
- Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center
- The Painter's Playground
- Horace Harding Playground
- Remsen Family Cemetery
- Fleetwood Triangle
Nearest to the neighborhood's center: Fleetwood Triangle, about 170m. The 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 572m from the center (approximate park centers, not entrances).
Practical Living
Practical (HPD violations): 8/10 (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 2,416 residential tax lots in the neighborhood by PLUTO building class (NYC Department of City Planning).
Who Rego Park Is For
Transit-dependent commuters
Express M and R subway access (63 Drive-Rego Park) is your lifeline, though the commute score of 3.5/10, equal to the borough median, reflects long travel times. You're trading commute length for neighborhood walkability.
Urban forest seekers
With 164 trees per 200m and 5.2/10 tree density, you're getting genuine tree cover. ART/Livability score of 4.6 reflects cultural density and street-level character that outpaces borough baseline (4.1).
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Mid-range tree cover
164 average trees within 200m and 5.2/10 tree density.
Direct express subway access
M and R trains at 63 Drive-Rego Park station provide express connections; no local-only constraint.
Established cultural and food anchors
Bukharian cuisine heritage and Queens Boulevard retail create distinct neighborhood identity beyond generic residential.
Affordable housing stock documented
Co-op buildings represent stable, community-owned housing options in a high-rise dominated area.
Trade-offs
Long commute times relative to Queens
Commute score of 3.5/10, equal to Queens' low borough median.
Limited outdoor recreation space
Outdoor score of 5.6/10, slightly below borough median (6.0). Park inventory is modest for population density.
Building stock heavily weighted to high-rise
One-family houses on 60% of residential tax lots; elevator apartment buildings on 3%. Limited rowhouse or ground-floor character; vertical living is the default.
Score Any Address in Rego Park
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in Rego ParkFrequently Asked Questions about Rego Park
1Is Rego Park safe?
By NYPD data, Rego Park is rated "Safer Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 58% of Queens neighborhoods. 1,273 crime incidents and 0 shooting incidents over the past 12 months. See the safety page for the full breakdown.
2What is the average rent in Rego Park?
Rents in Rego Park, 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 Rego Park?
Rego Park has a commute score of 3.5/10. 1 subway stations serve the area: 63 Dr-Rego Park.
4What are the best streets in Rego Park?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Rego Park known for?
Rego Park sits in Queens and ranks #17 of 27 Queens neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data on DwellCheck's livability score (5.7/10). It's served by 1 subway station (63 Dr-Rego Park). Rego Park is a practical high-rise neighborhood with solid transit access but lengthy commutes and modest outdoor amenities—a 5.7 composite score reflects reliable livability without standout appeal.
6What is it like to live in Rego Park?
DwellCheck scores Rego Park, 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). Rego Park's composite is 5.7/10. Rego Park is a practical high-rise neighborhood with solid transit access but lengthy commutes and modest outdoor amenities—a 5.7 composite score reflects reliable livability without standout appeal. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Rego Park address through DwellCheck.
7Where is Rego Park?
Rego Park is in Queens, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the Rego Park Neighborhood Tabulation Area (QN0601), which falls in the Census tabulation area that approximates Queens Community District 6 (Forest Hills-Rego Park). Its main ZIP code is 11374. Subway stations in the neighborhood include 63 Dr-Rego Park.
8What ZIP code is Rego Park in?
Rego Park is in ZIP code 11374 (98% of residential units). Shares are of the 14,131 residential units in the Rego Park Neighborhood Tabulation Area (QN0601), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records. 1 other ZIP code holds under 5%.
9Can you walk around Rego Park at night?
Rego Park is classified as "Safer Than Average" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 0 shooting incidents and 1,273 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 Rego Park dangerous?
By NYPD data, Rego Park is rated "Safer Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 58% of Queens neighborhoods. 1,273 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
11What parts of Rego Park 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 Rego Park a good place to live?
Rego Park scores 5.7/10 for overall livability and has a lower crime rate per resident than 58% of Queens neighborhoods. Rego Park is a practical high-rise neighborhood with solid transit access but lengthy commutes and modest outdoor amenities—a 5.7 composite score reflects reliable livability without standout appeal. 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 Rego Park?
The composite score is 5.7. Strength lies in Practical (8/10) and ART/Livability (4.6/10); weakness appears in Commute (3.5/10) and Outdoor access (5.6/10).
14What transit options connect Rego Park?
The M and R trains serve 63 Drive-Rego Park station, providing express access to Manhattan. No other subway lines enter the neighborhood. The 3.5/10 commute score reflects the time cost of this single-line dependency for longer trips.
15Why is there no price or investment score?
Price and investment data are not available in NYC Open Data, so DwellCheck does not score them for this 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.