Safety index · Manhattan, New York · data through June 2026
Is Lower East Side safe?
Lower East Side records a high level of reported crime for New York City. Its SafeRoute safety index is 26 out of 100 — 27 points below the citywide median of 53, ranking 179th of 197 NYC neighborhoods — based on 4,200 incidents reported to the NYPD within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 6 months to June 2026.
DATA THROUGH JUNE 2026 · 6 MONTHS OF DATA
The 0–100 scale is calibrated to New York — a typical New York neighborhood sits near 53. It ranks Lower East Side against other neighborhoods here, and cannot be read against a score in another city.
The largest reported category here is violent crime (16% of reports) — worth taking seriously when walking at night; the full mix is broken down below.
Incidents spread across the day here — roughly 27% of severity-weighted reports come in the evening (6 p.m.–midnight) and 22% overnight.
Where incidents cluster
What's reported here
| Violent crime | 675 · 16% | |
| Other theft | 1,586 · 38% | |
| Public order | 805 · 19% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 318 · 8% | |
| Other | 201 · 5% | |
| Drugs | 235 · 6% |
When it happens
Severity-weighted share of reported incidents by time of day, from NYPD incident timestamps.
Walking in Lower East Side at night?
SafeRoute scores every walking route against the same live crime data on this page — and shows how much of each route runs on lit streets. Pick the safer way, share your walk, and check in when you arrive. Free, no account.
Get SafeRoute on the App StoreNearby areas
- Chinatown-Two Bridges27/100 · Elevated
- East Village28/100 · Elevated
- SoHo-Little Italy-Hudson Square24/100 · High risk
- Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village43/100 · Elevated
- Greenwich Village23/100 · High risk
Common questions
Is Lower East Side safe at night?
Elevated overall (safety index 26/100). About 49% of severity-weighted incidents in Lower East Side are reported between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. At night, prefer lit, busier streets — a block or two of detour often avoids the clusters on the map above.
What is the most common crime in Lower East Side?
Violent crime — 675 of 4,200 incidents (16%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center over the 6 months to June 2026.
How is the Lower East Side safety index calculated?
SafeRoute weights each incident reported to the NYPD by severity (violence weighs more than shoplifting), sums the last available period within 1 km of the neighborhood center, and normalizes against citywide crime rates onto a 0–100 scale — higher is safer. It describes reported crime only; it is not a guarantee of safety. The scale is calibrated within New York, so scores compare neighborhoods to each other and cannot be read against another city's.