Is Yorkville Safe? Manhattan Livability, Crime & Rent
Yorkville is a green, walkable neighborhood with exceptional local infrastructure, but limited transit and rising crime offset its park and tree advantages.
Yorkville at a glance
- Borough
- Manhattan
- Livability score
- 6.1/10
- Borough rank
- #26 of 33
- Safety verdict
- Much Safer Than Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 1,898
- Median listing
- $0
- Subway stations
- 1 (96 St)
- Active listings
- 4
- Data updated
- 2026-04-05
Is Yorkville Safe?
Yorkville, Manhattan scores 6.1/10 for overall livability, ranking #26 of 33 Manhattan neighborhoods. Yorkville is a green, walkable neighborhood with exceptional local infrastructure, but limited transit and rising crime offset its park and tree advantages.
This score aggregates live NYPD crime data, 311 safety complaints, shooting incidents, and building health signals within walking distance. Safety varies by block — check a specific Yorkville address below for a block-level breakdown.
Score Overview
Vertical line = borough median. Scale: 0-10.
Neighborhood Character
Yorkville is a tree-dense Upper East Side enclave where you'll walk beneath an average of 138 trees per 200 meters and a canopy density rated 9.5/10—some of the highest in the borough. The neighborhood clusters around Carl Schurz Park and the East River, giving you genuine waterfront access and green space within 394 meters on average. You'll find a mix of walk-ups (50%), mid-rise, and high-rise buildings that create a varied street texture, anchored by European bakeries and established residential blocks. The Q train at 96th Street is your primary transit link, though commute times lag significantly behind borough averages.
Analysis based on 4 properties scored across 30+ data points
Livability & Restoration
Tree Canopy
138 trees
Avg within 200m | Density: 9.5/10
10 additional trees per block correlates with health benefits equivalent to being 7 years younger (Kardan et al., 2015)
Park Access
Carl Schurz Park
Avg 394m away | Score: 3.1/10
Living within 300m of green space associated with 30% fewer antidepressant prescriptions (Taylor et al., 2015)
Acoustic Quality
8/10
Noise proxy score (higher = quieter)
Chronic noise above 55 dB at night associated with 8% cardiovascular mortality increase (Basner et al., 2014)
Street Character
0/10
Enclosure: 0/10
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.
We compute an ART score for every block by combining four signals: access to restorative zones (parks, museums, libraries), sensory load (nightlife and tourist density), street vitality (Jane Jacobs’ “eyes on the street”), and third places (Oldenburg’s informal community spaces).
In line with the Manhattan median — typical city stimulus with typical restorative access.
What drives the score
- +Restorative zones. Museums, libraries, community gardens, and parks within walking distance. “Soft fascination” stimuli (clouds, tree branches, water) let directed attention recover without effort — the Kaplans’ core mechanism.
- −Sensory load. Bar and nightclub density (5+ within 150m), firehouse siren corridors, tourist chokepoints, and very high foot traffic push the score down by up to 8 points.
- +Street vitality (Jacobs, 1961). Permitted block parties, farmers markets, and community festivals over the past 12 months — a proxy for “eyes on the street” and the informal surveillance that makes blocks feel safe and maintained.
- +Third places (Oldenburg, 1989). Cafés, public plazas (POPS), community centers — the “anchors of community life” that buffer against social isolation. Loneliness has been linked to 29% higher incident coronary heart disease risk (Valtorta et al., 2016).
Health mechanism. Directed-attention fatigue (DAF) is linked to impaired decision-making, irritability, and elevated cortisol. A meta-analysis of 60+ studies (Ohly et al., 2016) found restorative environment exposure significantly improves attention-task performance (Hedges’ g ≈ 0.32) and reduces negative affect.
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: 8.5/10
Walk Score Proxy
0/10
Based on street geometry analysis
Financial Landscape
Median Price
$0
Price per Sq Ft
$0
Price Distribution
Price by Building Type
Investment Indicators
Avg Unused FAR
0 sqft
Development rights potential
Unused development rights valued at $30-$80/sqft in Brooklyn (Glaeser, 2011)
Avg Days on Market
0
Market velocity signal
Multi-Family Stock
0%
2-4 family buildings
Multi-family owner-occupants build 2.4x wealth vs single-family (Herbert, 2013)
Outdoor & Green Space
Avg Tree Count
138
Within 200m radius
Canopy Density
9.5/10
Normalized canopy coverage
Park Network
- Carl Schurz Park
- Asphalt Green
- Stanley Isaacs Playground
- Ruppert Park
- Park
Avg distance: 394m
Practical Living
Building Types
Who Yorkville Is For
Tree-focused households
Canopy density of 9.5/10 and 138 trees per 200m make this the greenest choice for residents prioritizing outdoor cover and air quality
Park-adjacent dwellers
Carl Schurz Park, Asphalt Green, and three other nearby parks average 394m away; outdoor score of 6.2 reflects reliable park access
Local-commerce seekers
Practical score of 9/10—the highest in the borough—indicates strong walkable retail, services, and day-to-day neighborhood infrastructure
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Exceptional tree canopy coverage
138 trees within 200m and 9.5/10 canopy density rank among the borough's highest
Strong walkable infrastructure
Reliable park access
Four named parks average 394m away; Carl Schurz Park and Asphalt Green provide waterfront and recreation options
Established residential character
Balanced building mix (50% walk-ups, 25% mid-rise, 25% high-rise) with landmark institutions like Gracie Mansion
Trade-offs
Severe transit limitation
Commute score of 3/10 (vs. borough median 8.5); Q train at 96th Street is the primary option
High noise complaint volume
3,142 noise complaints recorded—classified as Very High
Rising crime activity
1,426 crimes in past 12 months with a worsening trend of +179.6%; safety percentile is 84th in borough (high-activity classification)
Moderate rodent complaints
522 rodent complaints on record
Score Any Address in Yorkville
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in YorkvilleFrequently Asked Questions about Yorkville
1Is Yorkville safe?
By NYPD data, Yorkville is rated "Much Safer Than Average" — safer than 79% of Manhattan neighborhoods. 1,898 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 Yorkville?
Rents in Yorkville, Manhattan vary significantly by building and apartment type. The median listing price is $0. Use DwellCheck to research specific addresses.
3How is transit access in Yorkville?
Yorkville has a commute score of 3/10. 1 subway stations serve the area: 96 St.
4What are the best streets in Yorkville?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Yorkville known for?
Yorkville sits in Manhattan and ranks #26 of 33 Manhattan neighborhoods on DwellCheck's livability score (6.1/10). It's served by 1 subway station (96 St), with a median listing price of $0. Yorkville is a green, walkable neighborhood with exceptional local infrastructure, but limited transit and rising crime offset its park and tree advantages.
6What is it like to live in Yorkville?
Living in Yorkville, Manhattan weights against six livability dimensions: practical (HPD-violation density), commute (subway proximity), arts/culture (venue density), outdoor (parks + trees), financial (price level), investment (price trend). Yorkville's composite is 6.1/10. Yorkville is a green, walkable neighborhood with exceptional local infrastructure, but limited transit and rising crime offset its park and tree advantages. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Yorkville address through DwellCheck.
7Is Yorkville expensive?
Median listing price in Yorkville, Manhattan is $0 based on 4 active listings as of 2026-04-05. Whether that reads "expensive" depends on the comparison: it's lower than Manhattan averages and varies considerably by building. Rent-stabilized units in Yorkville can run 20-40% below the median; check DHCR rent history for any specific address to verify.
8Can you walk around Yorkville at night?
Yorkville is classified as "Much Safer Than Average" by NYPD CompStat data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 0 shooting incidents and 1,898 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.
9Is Yorkville dangerous?
By NYPD data, Yorkville is rated "Much Safer Than Average" — safer than 79% of Manhattan neighborhoods. 1,898 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
10What parts of Yorkville should I avoid?
NYPD CompStat reports incidents at the precinct level, not block-by-block, so a granular "avoid this street" answer isn't possible from public data alone. The most reliable signal at the block level is DwellCheck's address-level safety score, which weights NYPD incidents within a 250m radius of a specific building. As a general rule across NYC: industrial blocks with no foot traffic are higher-risk than residential blocks; subway-station-adjacent commercial corridors are lowest-risk.
11Is Yorkville a good place to live?
Yorkville scores 6.1/10 for overall livability and ranks in the 79th percentile for safety in Manhattan. Yorkville is a green, walkable neighborhood with exceptional local infrastructure, but limited transit and rising crime offset its park and tree advantages. 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).
12What is the average DwellScore in Yorkville?
The median composite score is 6.1 (interquartile range 5.7–6.5). Practical amenities drive strength at 9/10, while commute scores drag the overall rating down at 3/10.
13How does Yorkville's transit connectivity compare?
Commute score of 3/10 is dramatically below the borough median of 8.5. The Q train at 96th Street is the primary transit access; this limits broader MTA connectivity.
14Is Yorkville safe?
Safety is classified as high-activity (84th percentile in the borough), with 1,426 crimes recorded over 12 months and a crime trend worsening by +179.6%. Noise complaints (3,142) are also very high.
15What makes Yorkville's outdoor environment distinctive?
An average of 138 trees per 200 meters and canopy density of 9.5/10 rank among the borough's highest. Carl Schurz Park, Asphalt Green, and three other parks average 394 meters away, supporting an outdoor score of 6.2.
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