Living in Starrett City: rent, commute and grades

Brooklyn · Updated November 2026

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Rent in Starrett City

$1,302 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 3.7 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 49 places to eat or shop.
DFood and shopping
Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 10 places to eat, 7 kinds of cuisine, 2.3 large grocery stores and 34 open storefronts.
Residents: A shopping center close by, next to Gateway. Resident, Mar 2024
CParks and green space
100% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park of an acre or more, with about 192 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 198 street trees within 300 m of the average home.

FCommunity
19% of households moved in since 2018, 2% are roommates sharing a home, 13% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 4 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
DNightlife
About 3 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.

C-Safety
8.2 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (135 in all).
A-Quiet
25 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.
B+Building upkeep
5.7 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 6.2 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.

Food and shoppingA shopping center close by, next to Gateway. Resident, Mar 2024

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Fine, unlike rougher parts of East New York.
Not a resident, Aug 2026
Very little crime, and a great place to live.
Resident, Mar 2024
Trouble inside the complex is mild compared with the rest of East New York.
Grew up there, Mar 2024

Plenty of stores and groceries nearby, with the Gateway Center shopping mall next door.
Worked in the area, Mar 2024

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

Residents: The 3 and L stations are too far to walk; take a bus. Grew up there, Mar 2024

Starrett City, officially Spring Creek Towers, is a single rental complex of 5,881 apartments in 46 brick towers. Source
The complex is largely self-contained, with its own shopping center, community newspaper, schools, post office, senior center and tenants association, and its own cogeneration power plant. Source
The complex sits on 153 acres of lawns, playgrounds, fields and tree-lined streets overlooking Jamaica Bay. Source
Residents have the Brooklyn Sports Club on site, a 100,000 square foot club with a competition-sized swimming pool, basketball courts and a boxing studio. Source
Shirley Chisholm State Park, at 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue, covers 407 acres on the former Pennsylvania and Fountain Avenue landfills. It rises 130 feet above sea level, some of the highest ground in Brooklyn, with 10 miles of car-free paths. Source
Starrett City opened in 1974, built mostly with state housing loans under the Mitchell-Lama program. It took the name Spring Creek Towers in 2002 but is still widely called Starrett City. Source