Living in University Heights: rent, commute and grades

The Bronx · Updated November 2026

The pale green steel swing bridge crosses the Harlem River under a blue sky with clouds.

The green copper dome of the Gould Memorial Library rises above summer trees.

A tree-lined paved path with benches runs between prewar apartment buildings.

A wide view over rooftops of prewar apartment buildings under a deep blue sky.

A stone wall and walking path beneath green spring trees beside apartment buildings.

Photo credits

Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Hugo L. González, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Paulo JC Nogueira, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Jim.henderson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Rent in University Heights

$1,283 a month

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

University Heights is cheaper with roommates

Find people looking in University Heights

DOverall

University Heights graded

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

Everyday life

BWalkability
The average home has 4.5 of 5 everyday needs within a 10-minute walk (grocery store, restaurant, cafe, subway station, park) and about 299 places to eat or shop.
Residents: Everyday errands are close by on Andrews Avenue: a supermarket, laundromats, delis, a hardware store and pharmacies. Resident, Feb 2025
BFood and shopping
Within a 10-minute walk of the average home: about 51 places to eat, 15 kinds of cuisine, 5.3 large grocery stores and 195 open storefronts.
A-Parks and green space
100% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park of an acre or more, with about 140 acres of parkland within 1 km and about 519 street trees within 300 m of the average home.

People

C-Community
14% of households moved in since 2018, 3% are roommates sharing a home, 18% of residents are 22 to 34, and there are about 14 cafes and bars within a 10-minute walk of the average home.
Residents: A close-knit community that can be hard for newcomers to break into. Former resident, 2016 to about 2021, Feb 2025
C+Nightlife
About 10 bars, clubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol on site within a 10-minute walk of the average home.

Home and safety

FSafety
12.1 murders, robberies, felony assaults and burglaries were reported per 1,000 residents in 2025 (1,160 in all).
Residents: Safe only some of the time. Longtime resident, Mar 2025
City data alone would give D; what residents say in 3 Reddit threads moves it to F.
DQuiet
56 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: Summer nights are busy, with groups sitting out on the street playing music. Resident, Feb 2025
FBuilding upkeep
71.3 serious housing code violations (class B or C) were issued in 2025 per 100 rented homes, and there were 20.2 heat or hot water complaints per 100 rented homes.

Who lives there

Families with kids

What residents say

Residents like

WalkabilityEveryday errands are close by on Andrews Avenue: a supermarket, laundromats, delis, a hardware store and pharmacies. Resident, Feb 2025

Residents don’t like

SafetySafe only some of the time. Longtime resident, Mar 2025
CommunityLess sense of community than a neighborhood like Astoria. Resident, Feb 2025
SafetyHard going for anyone not used to rough neighborhoods. Grew up there, Jan 2026

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Safety

Reasonably safe for adults, though not ideal for raising kids.
Not a resident, Mar 2025
Blocks near University Avenue and Kingsbridge Road are fine; it gets dicier toward the Aqueduct and Fordham Road.
Not a resident, Jan 2026
Gang activity among young people is a visible presence.
Not a resident, Jan 2026

Community

A close-knit community that can be hard for newcomers to break into.
Former resident, 2016 to about 2021, Feb 2025
People are friendly.
Not a resident, Feb 2025
The people met on visits have been friendly.
Visits friends there, Feb 2025

Food and shopping

Hardly any coffee shops.
Not a resident, Jan 2026
A fair number of good restaurants beyond Dominican food, with more a short bus ride away.
Former resident, 2016 to about 2021, Feb 2025
Few supermarkets, and food options are mostly Dominican.
Resident, Feb 2025

Walkability

Biking is hard: steep hills, no bike lanes, and drivers who ignore traffic laws.
Not a resident, Feb 2025
Crossing the I-87 intersection on Fordham Road on foot is dangerous and unpredictable.
Not a resident, Feb 2025

Quiet

Summer nights are busy, with groups sitting out on the street playing music.
Resident, Feb 2025
West of University Avenue and north of the college is less noisy, with a suburban feel on Cedar Avenue.
Resident, Feb 2025
Summer nights are loud enough to keep you awake.
Not a resident, Feb 2025

Parks and green space

Short on parks and on neighborhood attractions.
Not a resident, Jan 2026
The old aqueduct walkway is a special local gem.
Has family in the area, Feb 2025

Getting around from University Heights

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

176 St 4
Burnside Av 4
Fordham Rd 4

Residents: Transit is good, with the 4 train, Metro-North and the BxM3 express bus all nearby. Resident, Feb 2025

What to know about University Heights

University Heights is named for New York University, which opened a campus here in 1894; its chancellor, Henry Mitchell MacCracken, worked to give the area the name. NYU sold the campus to the City University of New York in 1973, which renamed it Bronx Community College. Source
The neighborhood is mostly low-rise apartment buildings. After the IRT Jerome Avenue subway station opened in 1917, an area of farms, mansions and suburban villas quickly became an urban neighborhood of apartments built for the middle class. Source
The Hall of Fame for Great Americans on the Bronx Community College campus, founded in 1900 and designed by Stanford White, holds 96 bronze busts of notable Americans along a 630-foot colonnade. In 2012 it was made a National Historic Landmark together with White's Gould Memorial Library. Source
The Old Croton Aqueduct Walk is a linear park on Aqueduct Avenue between West Kingsbridge Road and West Burnside Avenue, laid on top of the aqueduct that brought New York City its first direct water supply in 1842. The city made it a scenic landmark in 2024. Source
The Kingsbridge Armory on West Kingsbridge Road, built from 1912 to 1917 to designs by Pilcher & Tachau, looks like a medieval Romanesque fortress, with massive towers and crenellated parapets. It has been a city landmark since 1974. Source
Fordham Road runs east from the University Heights Bridge. A 2022 city study says that after the subway (1906), the University Heights Bridge (1908) and the Grand Concourse (1909) opened, people from all over New York began shopping on Fordham Road. Source