Living in Howard Beach: rent, commute and grades

Queens · Updated November 2026

Photo credits

This guide also covers Lindenwood, which shares Howard Beach’s official city boundaries.

Rent in Howard Beach

$1,522 a month, estimated

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

DOverall

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

DWalkability
The average home has 3.5 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 58 places to eat or shop.
Residents: Public infrastructure is poor, and living here works only with a car to reach the rest of Queens and Brooklyn. Resident, Jun 2025
DFood and shopping
Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 17 places to eat, 12 kinds of cuisine, 0.9 large grocery stores and 36 open storefronts.
Residents: There is an Italian restaurant on nearly every block, but most are mediocre. Resident, Jun 2025
FParks and green space
42% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park of an acre or more, with about 63 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 358 street trees within 300 m of the average home.

FCommunity
14% of households moved in since 2018, 3% are roommates sharing a home, 10% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 8 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: Lindenwood feels accepting: a gay couple found their co-op board accommodating and fly a pride flag from their balcony every year. Lindenwood co-op owner, Jul 2026
C-Nightlife
About 6 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.

A-Safety
3.3 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (103 in all).
AQuiet
23 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.
BBuilding upkeep
8.2 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 7.2 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.

CommunityLindenwood feels accepting: a gay couple found their co-op board accommodating and fly a pride flag from their balcony every year. Lindenwood co-op owner, Jul 2026
CommunityLindenwood was problem free for a Latina former resident and her son, who went to the local Catholic and public schools. Former Lindenwood resident, Jun 2025

Food and shoppingThere is an Italian restaurant on nearly every block, but most are mediocre. Resident, Jun 2025

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The Howard Beach A train and AirTrain station has people around at all hours and has never felt unsafe.
Not a resident, Jul 2026

Lindenwood gave a former resident nothing to worry about as a newcomer, though Old Howard Beach is less certain.
Former resident, Mar 2026
Lindenwood neighbors are friendlier and more diverse than in the rest of Howard Beach, and don't get alarmed by people walking around after dark.
Lindenwood resident, Jun 2025
Going to a local K-8 school felt mostly fine, but enough incidents happened there to rule out ever moving to the area.
Attended a local school, Jul 2025

Public infrastructure is poor, and living here works only with a car to reach the rest of Queens and Brooklyn.
Resident, Jun 2025

By subway or bus, arriving by 9:00 on a weekday:Under 30 min30 to 45 min45 to 60 minOver an hourHoward Beach

Residents: Lindenwood is residential but easy to get from to other parts of the city. Lindenwood resident, Jun 2025

Howard Beach is mostly low-rise single-family detached houses, on the Jamaica Bay shore between the Belt Parkway and the bay. Source
Howard Beach was founded in 1897 by William J. Howard, a Brooklyn glove maker, who filled in marshland, built cottages and a hotel by the water. The area took the name Howard Beach in 1916. Source
Lindenwood, in the north of the neighborhood, was built from the early 1950s on former farmland, with red-brick two-story garden co-ops, six-story co-op and condo buildings and two-family homes. Source
Cross Bay Boulevard is the neighborhood's main commercial street, splitting Old Howard Beach to the east from the newer sections to the west. Source
Frank Charles Park, a 20-acre part of Gateway National Recreation Area in Howard Beach, has a playground, tennis, basketball and handball courts, ball fields, a bocce court and shoreline access for fishing. Source
Spring Creek, a 237-acre site of undeveloped upland forest, wetland and marsh, is also part of Gateway National Recreation Area in Howard Beach. Source
The A train's Howard Beach-JFK Airport station, at 103rd Street and 159th Avenue, connects to the AirTrain to JFK Airport. Source