Living in Fort Greene: rent, commute and grades

Brooklyn · Updated October 2026

A sunny tree-shaded sidewalk lined with wrought-iron fences, wooden and brick houses and green street trees on Vanderbilt Avenue.
A yellow clapboard house with green shutters beside brick row houses under big green trees.
Row houses with stoops behind iron fencing and mature trees, with a parked car in front.
A street corner with cafes and shopfronts in older brick buildings and a tall tower rising behind under a partly cloudy sky.
A bookshop with a green-framed window display and a young tree outside on a brick building.
Photo credits

Rent in Fort Greene

$3,189 a month

Type of homeA room in a 2-bedroom, shared by two

Fort Greene is cheaper with roommates

Find people looking in Fort Greene
AOverall

Fort Greene graded

Grades compare NYC neighborhoods with each other. How the grades work.

Everyday life

  • A-Walkability

    The average home has 4.7 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 332 places to eat or shop.

    Residents: Biking up Ashland Place to the Manhattan Bridge makes a pleasant commute in decent weather. Resident, Nov 2025

    City data alone would give B+; what residents say in 4 Reddit threads moves it to A-.

  • A+Food and shopping

    Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 138 places to eat, 36 kinds of cuisine, 6.4 large grocery stores and 161 open storefronts.

    Residents: DeKalb from the park to Vanderbilt has cool bars, great restaurants, coffee shops and shopping. Resident of 6 years, Oct 2026

    City data alone would give A; what residents say in 12 Reddit threads moves it to A+.

  • B+Parks and green space

    100% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park of an acre or more, with about 55 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 512 street trees within 300 m of the average home.

    Residents: The park is a lovely space. Resident, Sep 2026

    City data and 10 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.

People

  • ACommunity

    30% of households moved in since 2018, 17% are roommates sharing a home, 27% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 74 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.

    Residents: Feels completely safe, with friendly neighbors. New resident, Sep 2026

  • B+Nightlife

    About 58 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.

    Residents: Bars around South Elliott Pl draw a lot of foot traffic. Former resident of 10 years, May 2026

    City data alone would give A; what residents say in 7 Reddit threads moves it to B+.

Home and safety

  • C-Safety

    10.3 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (343 in all).

    Residents: Near BAM it feels safe enough with a baby, though not a place to raise older kids. Lives near BAM, Dec 2025

    City data alone would give D; what residents say in 12 Reddit threads moves it to C-.

  • C-Quiet

    50 noise complaints to 311 per 1,000 residents in 2025, not counting helicopter complaints, and counting each address at most 12 days a year. That measures how often people complain, not how loud it is.

    Residents: Very quiet at night, with hardly anyone on the street after midnight. Resident of a few years, Sep 2026

    City data and 12 resident threads on Reddit agree on this grade.

  • ABuilding upkeep

    7.8 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 2.4 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.

    Residents: Newer landlords in the neighborhood often cut corners on repairs. Lifelong resident, Apr 2026

Who lives there

  • Lots of roommates
  • Recent grads and young professionals

What residents say

Residents like

  • CommunityFeels completely safe, with friendly neighbors. New resident, Sep 2026
  • Food and shoppingDeKalb from the park to Vanderbilt has cool bars, great restaurants, coffee shops and shopping. Resident of 6 years, Oct 2026
  • NightlifeMyrtle has cute bars and restaurants, but the vibe is a chill neighborhood one rather than a loud, lively scene. Resident of 10+ years, Mar 2026
  • WalkabilityBiking up Ashland Place to the Manhattan Bridge makes a pleasant commute in decent weather. Resident, Nov 2025
  • QuietClose to Manhattan without its noise and crowds. Resident, Apr 2026
  • Parks and green spaceFort Greene Park is a social place for dog walkers and people hanging out by the tennis courts. Resident, Aug 2026

Residents don’t like

  • CommunityThe neighborhood skews toward families, which felt isolating for a young single resident. Former resident, May 2026
  • NightlifeGood bars were hard to find, with Rhodora and Dick and Jane's among the few standouts. Former resident, May 2025
  • QuietHigh-frequency pest repeller devices have spread to nearly every block and are grating to hear. Resident, Jul 2026
  • SafetyCatcalling of girls and young women is common enough that some change how they dress. Lifelong resident, Apr 2026
  • Food and shoppingThe neighborhood seems to have a good dining scene, but few restaurants are truly great; most have only one or two strong dishes. Lifelong Brooklynite, Aug 2026
  • QuietNear DeKalb and Cumberland, hospital sirens sound morning, afternoon, evening and late night; residents tune them out, but anyone below a high floor hears them. Resident, Sep 2025
Show 24 moreShow less

Safety

Community

Food and shopping

Nightlife

Walkability

Quiet

Parks and green space

Building upkeep

  • Newer landlords in the neighborhood often cut corners on repairs.

    Lifelong resident, Apr 2026

  • A gut-renovated brownstone rental had things break on first use and poor construction.

    Parent, Apr 2026

  • Older walk-ups often lack in-building laundry, dishwashers and bike storage, with dated finishes.

    Resident, Apr 2026

Getting around from Fort Greene

Map of New York City neighborhoods shaded by travel time by subway or bus from Fort Greene
By subway or bus, arriving by 9:00 on a weekday:Under 30 min30 to 45 min45 to 60 minOver an hourFort Greene
  • Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr 2345BQ
  • Fulton St G
  • Lafayette Av C
  • Nevins St 2345

Residents: About 11 subway lines are close by, making it easy to get anywhere. Resident of 18 months, Oct 2026

Residents: Living near BAM gives amazing transit access along with doorman buildings and nearby groceries. Lives near BAM, Dec 2025

What to know about Fort Greene

  • Fort Greene is known for its hilly namesake park, its arts and dining scene and its brownstone-lined streets. NYC Tourism describes it as long home to a mix of professionals, artists and working-class New Yorkers. Source
  • Fort Greene's residential core is mostly three- to five-story brownstone row houses, and about half of the core blocks sit inside the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill historic districts, designated in 1978 and 1981. Source
  • Myrtle Avenue and Fulton Street are Fort Greene's main shopping streets, lined with three- and four-story apartment buildings over ground-floor stores. Myrtle Avenue has had its own business improvement district since 2005. Source
  • The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), founded in 1861, is Brooklyn's signature arts campus, and NYC Tourism lists it in Fort Greene. Source
  • Fort Greene Park, at DeKalb Avenue and South Portland Avenue, was first established in 1847. In the 1970s and 1980s it was a center of hip-hop park jams, and it has also hosted events such as Lay Out and Curlfest. Source
  • At the center of Fort Greene Park stands the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument, a Doric column dedicated in 1908. It honors the 11,500 patriots who died on British prison ships in nearby Wallabout Bay during the American Revolution. Source

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Sources

Facts about Fort Greene:

Data behind the grades: