Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Bay Ridge, Sheepshead Bay NYC’s Safest Hoods, Says Report

We’ve been meaning to report on Manhattan news site dnainfo.com‘s precinct-by-precinct per capita crime stat study for some time but, as they say, no news is good news and our street corners happen to be some of the safest in the city.

Unfortunately for our pals in picturesque Park Slope, the same could not be said for crime in their neck of the woods.

Crime, particularly burglaries and robberies, have risen in much of the increasingly wealthy ‘brownstone belt’ of Central and Northern Brooklyn, which may be a victim of its own success, real estate price-wise.

Its increasing popularity has also led to a widening disparity of income between longtime residents and wealthy newcomers – presenting plenty of targets for those who resort to crime to make ends meet.

Despite the rise of crime in Northern Brooklyn, Southern Brooklyn’s solidly Middle Class  neighborhoods – including Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, Borough Park and Sheepshead Bay – remained some of NYC’s safest areas.

Overall crime was down in Bensonhurst in 2010 – the year used in the study.

Although there was an increase in rapes to 13, up from 6 the year before, this could be an anomaly. While one rape is always too many, the percentage increase should be seen in the context of relatively low numbers for both years, as well as overall crime trends.

Neighboring Borough Park, along with Kensington, is served by the precinct with the lowest crime numbers in the borough.

Bay Ridge and Sheepshead Bay also had some of the lowest numbers in the city – though Sheepshead Bay has seen a significant increase so far this year.

One area of Southern Brooklyn dealing with high crime, according to the report, was Coney Island.