Is Long Island City Safe? Queens Livability, Crime & Rent
Long Island City scores 7.4 median: exceptional for commuting and practical services, held back by noise, rising crime, and modest financial indicators.
Long Island City at a glance
- Borough
- Queens
- Livability score
- 7.4/10
- Borough rank
- #1 of 27
- Safety verdict
- Average
- Crimes (12 mo)
- 2,523
- Median listing
- $0
- Subway stations
- 6 (Queens Plaza, Court Sq-23 St, 21 St)
- Active listings
- 276
- Data updated
- 2026-04-05
Is Long Island City Safe?
Long Island City, Queens scores 7.4/10 for overall livability, ranking #1 of 27 Queens neighborhoods. Long Island City scores 7.4 median: exceptional for commuting and practical services, held back by noise, rising crime, and modest financial indicators.
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 Long Island City address below for a block-level breakdown.
Score Overview
Vertical line = borough median. Scale: 0-10.
Neighborhood Character
Long Island City is a rapidly densifying waterfront neighborhood defined by glass high-rises, active street life, and surprisingly robust tree cover. You'll find an average of 64 trees within a 200-meter radius with a canopy density of 9.5/10—comparable to quieter residential Queens neighborhoods. The built environment is 51% high-rise, 30% mid-rise, and 19% walk-up, creating a visibly vertical skyline with Manhattan views. Street-level, you're navigating constant construction, heavy foot traffic, and a mix of industrial remnants alongside new development. Parks are accessible but modest: Murray Playground, Andrews Grove, Court Square Park, and Notorious LIC Park cluster within an average of 263 meters, though noise complaints (2,524 in 12 months) reflect the reality of a high-activity commercial and residential zone.
Analysis based on 276 properties scored across 30+ data points
Livability & Restoration
Tree Canopy
64 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
Murray Playground
Avg 263m away | Score: 2.7/10
Living within 300m of green space associated with 30% fewer antidepressant prescriptions (Taylor et al., 2015)
Acoustic Quality
7/10
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).
Meaningfully more restorative than the Queens average — expect lower sensory load and better access to restorative zones than most of the borough.
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
9.5/10
Borough median: 5.5/10
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
64
Within 200m radius
Canopy Density
9.5/10
Normalized canopy coverage
Park Network
- Murray Playground
- Andrews Grove
- Court Square Park
- Notorious LIC Park
- Vernon Mall
Avg distance: 263m
Practical Living
Building Types
Who Long Island City Is For
Commuters prioritizing transit access
Commute score of 9.5 is among the highest in the city, with six subway lines (E, F, R, 7, G, M, N, W) within walking distance via Queens Plaza, Court Square, and Queensboro Plaza stations
Practical urban dwellers
Practical score of 9.0 reflects dense commercial infrastructure, services, and walkability typical of a fully developed neighborhood with 276 tracked buildings
Art and culture seekers
ART/Livability score of 6.3 exceeds borough median (4.8) thanks to MoMA PS1 and emerging cultural infrastructure, though the neighborhood remains more commercial than cultural
Pros & Cons
Strengths
Exceptional transit connectivity
Commute score of 9.5 (borough median: 5.5); six subway lines serve the neighborhood with minimal walking distance
Dense tree canopy and park access
64 trees within 200m with 9.5/10 canopy density; five parks within ~263m average distance
High walkability and services
Cultural amenities and waterfront
MoMA PS1, waterfront parks, and Manhattan views differentiate the neighborhood from surrounding industrial Queens
Trade-offs
Very high noise levels
2,524 noise complaints in 12 months reflect active construction, traffic, and high population density
Rising crime trend
Crime increased 226.7% over 12 months; 1,957 total crimes place the neighborhood at 59th percentile in borough safety
Below-borough-median financial health
Financial score of 5.0 vs. borough median of 6.0, suggesting economic stress or service gaps relative to Queens as a whole
Weak investment momentum
Investment score of 5.0 vs. borough median of 5.5, indicating neutral long-term outlook for property values and development
Score Any Address in Long Island City
Get detailed livability scores based on building health, transit access, safety, noise levels, and 15+ NYC data sources.
Search an Address in Long Island CityFrequently Asked Questions about Long Island City
1Is Long Island City safe?
By NYPD data, Long Island City is rated "Average" — safer than 47% of Queens neighborhoods. 2,523 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 Long Island City?
Rents in Long Island City, Queens vary significantly by building and apartment type. The median listing price is $0. Use DwellCheck to research specific addresses.
3How is transit access in Long Island City?
Long Island City has a commute score of 9.5/10. 6 subway stations serve the area: Queens Plaza, Court Sq-23 St, 21 St.
4What are the best streets in Long Island City?
The best streets depend on your priorities. Use DwellCheck to compare specific addresses across livability, safety, transit, and environmental factors.
5What is Long Island City known for?
Long Island City sits in Queens and ranks #1 of 27 Queens neighborhoods on DwellCheck's livability score (7.4/10). It's served by 6 subway stations (Queens Plaza, Court Sq-23 St, 21 St), with a median listing price of $0. Long Island City scores 7.4 median: exceptional for commuting and practical services, held back by noise, rising crime, and modest financial indicators.
6What is it like to live in Long Island City?
Living in Long Island City, Queens 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). Long Island City's composite is 7.4/10. Long Island City scores 7.4 median: exceptional for commuting and practical services, held back by noise, rising crime, and modest financial indicators. For the block-by-block view, run any specific Long Island City address through DwellCheck.
7Is Long Island City expensive?
Median listing price in Long Island City, Queens is $0 based on 276 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 Long Island City can run 20-40% below the median; check DHCR rent history for any specific address to verify.
8Can you walk around Long Island City at night?
Long Island City is classified as "Average" by NYPD CompStat data. Over the past 12 months it recorded 0 shooting incidents and 2,523 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 Long Island City dangerous?
By NYPD data, Long Island City is rated "Average" — safer than 47% of Queens neighborhoods. 2,523 crime incidents over 12 months. Block-level risk varies; check the address-level safety score for any specific street or building.
10What parts of Long Island City 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 Long Island City a good place to live?
Long Island City scores 7.4/10 for overall livability and ranks in the 47th percentile for safety in Queens. Long Island City scores 7.4 median: exceptional for commuting and practical services, held back by noise, rising crime, and modest financial indicators. 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 Long Island City?
The median composite score is 7.4 (interquartile range: 7.0–7.8). Strength lies in commuting (9.5) and practical livability (9.0); weakness appears in financial (5.0) and investment (5.0) scores, both below borough medians.
13How safe is Long Island City?
The neighborhood ranks at the 59th percentile for safety within Queens—slightly above median activity. However, crime rose 226.7% over 12 months, from a lower base, and noise complaints (2,524) indicate high-activity stress.
14What is the building stock like?
High-rise dominates at 51% of 276 tracked buildings, followed by mid-rise (30%) and walk-up (19%). This vertical profile reflects rapid development and reflects the neighborhood's transformation into a residential-commercial hub.
15How much green space is there?
You'll find 64 trees within 200m on average with 9.5/10 canopy density—competitive with quieter residential areas. Five parks (Murray Playground, Andrews Grove, Court Square, Notorious LIC, Vernon Mall) cluster within ~263m.
16What transit options are available?
Six subway lines serve the neighborhood: E, F, R (Queens Plaza); 7, E, F, G, M (Court Square–23 St); G (21 St); 7, N, W (Queensboro Plaza); 7 (Hunters Point Av, Vernon Blvd–Jackson Av). Commute score of 9.5 reflects this density.
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