Is Sunnyside Safe? Queens Livability, Crime & Rent
Sunnyside is a 7-train neighborhood hampered by above-average crime and noise—a composite score of 5.5 reflects its mixed character.
Sunnyside at a glance
- Borough
- Queens
- Livability score
- 5.5/10
- Borough rank (NYC Open Data guides)
- #21 of 27
- Safety verdict
- Higher Than Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 2,316
- Subway stations
- 4 (52 St, 46 St-Bliss St, 40 St-Lowery St)
- Data updated
- 2026-09-14
Is Sunnyside Safe?
Sunnyside, Queens scores 5.5/10 for overall livability, ranking #21 of 27 Queens neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data. Sunnyside is a 7-train neighborhood hampered by above-average crime and noise—a composite score of 5.5 reflects its mixed character.
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 Sunnyside safety page. Safety varies by block — check a specific Sunnyside 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
Sunnyside averages 123 trees within 200 meters of any address, with 2.4/10 tree density. Residential tax lots mix two-family houses (38%), walk-up apartment buildings (32%) and one-family houses (20%), creating varied streetscapes rather than uniform corridors. Nearby green spaces include Sabba Park, L/CPL Thomas P. Noonan Jr. Playground, and Lt. Michael R. Davidson Playground; the 3 nearest parks average 697 meters from the neighborhood's center. The 7 train provides your main transit lifeline. On the ground level, you'll notice persistent noise—3,009 noise complaints logged over 12 months—and higher crime activity holding steady, with 2,316 total crimes recorded.
Livability & Restoration
Trees
123 trees
Expected in a 200m circle (NYC Parks tree inventory) | Density: 2.4/10 (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: L/CPL Thomas P. Noonan Jr. Playground | nearest to the center: L/CPL Thomas P. Noonan Jr. Playground, 566m | 3 nearest average 697m 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
6.5/10
Borough median: 3.5/10
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
123
Trees expected in a 200m circle
Tree Density
2.4/10
980 trees per km² in NYC Parks' tree inventory (street and park trees); city percentile, 1 = sparsest
Largest Parks In or Near the Neighborhood
- L/CPL Thomas P. Noonan Jr. Playground
- Sabba Park
- John Vincent Daniels Jr. Square
- Lt. Michael R. Davidson Playground
- Calvary Monument
Nearest to the neighborhood's center: L/CPL Thomas P. Noonan Jr. Playground, about 566m. The 3 nearest NYC Parks properties average 697m from the center (approximate park centers, not entrances).
Practical Living
Practical (HPD violations): 7/10 (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 3,080 residential tax lots in the neighborhood by PLUTO building class (NYC Department of City Planning).
Who Sunnyside Is For
7-train commuters
Commute score of 6.5 (above the borough median of 3.5) with four 7-train stations in the neighborhood.
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Diverse building stock
Two-family houses (38% of residential tax lots), walk-up apartment buildings (32%) and one-family houses (20%) provide housing variety
Trade-offs
Above-average crime
2,316 crimes in 12 months with a stable trend (0%); a lower crime rate per resident than 35% of Queens neighborhoods
Noise pollution
3,009 noise complaints logged—moderate—indicating persistent street-level sound issues
Score Any Address in Sunnyside
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in SunnysideFrequently Asked Questions about Sunnyside
1Is Sunnyside safe?
By NYPD data, Sunnyside is rated "Higher Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 35% of Queens neighborhoods. 2,316 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 Sunnyside?
Rents in Sunnyside, 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 Sunnyside?
Sunnyside has a commute score of 6.5/10. 4 subway stations serve the area: 52 St, 46 St-Bliss St, 40 St-Lowery St.
4What are the best streets in Sunnyside?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Sunnyside known for?
Sunnyside sits in Queens and ranks #21 of 27 Queens neighborhoods scored from NYC Open Data on DwellCheck's livability score (5.5/10). It's served by 4 subway stations (52 St, 46 St-Bliss St, 40 St-Lowery St). Sunnyside is a 7-train neighborhood hampered by above-average crime and noise—a composite score of 5.5 reflects its mixed character.
6What is it like to live in Sunnyside?
DwellCheck scores Sunnyside, 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). Sunnyside's composite is 5.5/10. Sunnyside is a 7-train neighborhood hampered by above-average crime and noise—a composite score of 5.5 reflects its mixed character. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Sunnyside address through DwellCheck.
7Where is Sunnyside?
Sunnyside is in Queens, New York City. DwellCheck maps it to the Sunnyside Neighborhood Tabulation Area (QN0202), which falls in the Census tabulation area that approximates Queens Community District 2 (Long Island City-Sunnyside-Woodside). Its main ZIP codes are 11104 and 11377. Subway stations in the neighborhood include 52 St, 46 St-Bliss St and 40 St-Lowery St.
8What ZIP code is Sunnyside in?
Sunnyside spans ZIP codes 11104 (60% of residential units) and 11377 (36%). Shares are of the 22,146 residential units in the Sunnyside Neighborhood Tabulation Area (QN0202), from NYC PLUTO 26v2 tax-lot records. 2 other ZIP codes each hold under 5%.
9Can you walk around Sunnyside at night?
Sunnyside is classified as "Higher Than Average" by NYPD complaint data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 0 shooting incidents and 2,316 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 Sunnyside dangerous?
By NYPD data, Sunnyside is rated "Higher Than Average", with a lower crime rate per resident than 35% of Queens neighborhoods. 2,316 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
11What parts of Sunnyside 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 Sunnyside a good place to live?
Sunnyside scores 5.5/10 for overall livability and has a lower crime rate per resident than 35% of Queens neighborhoods. Sunnyside is a 7-train neighborhood hampered by above-average crime and noise—a composite score of 5.5 reflects its mixed character. 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 Sunnyside?
The composite score is 5.5. Strength in Practical (7.0) and Commute (6.5) offsets weakness in Outdoor (5.0) and ART/Livability (2.7).
14How is transit access rated?
Commute score is 6.5, above the borough median of 3.5. The 7 train is the primary connection, with four stations in the neighborhood.
15Is Sunnyside safe?
Safety is rated higher than average, with a lower crime rate per resident than 35% of Queens neighborhoods. 2,316 crimes recorded over 12 months, a stable trend (0%). This is above typical borough activity levels.
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