Safety index · Manhattan, New York · data through March 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 23 out of 100 — 10 points below the citywide median of 33, ranking 175th of 197 NYC neighborhoods — based on 1,928 incidents reported to the NYPD within 1 km of the neighborhood center (data through March 2026).
Most of what's reported here is property-related — other theft alone is 37% of reports — rather than violence against strangers, though the full mix below is worth a look.
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
| Other theft | 722 · 37% | |
| Violent crime | 292 · 15% | |
| Public order | 369 · 19% | |
| Criminal damage & arson | 145 · 8% | |
| Drugs | 130 · 7% | |
| Other | 89 · 5% |
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 Bridges23/100 · High risk
- East Village23/100 · High risk
- SoHo-Little Italy-Hudson Square21/100 · High risk
- Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village30/100 · Elevated
- Greenwich Village21/100 · High risk
Common questions
Is Lower East Side safe at night?
High risk overall (safety index 23/100). About 48% 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?
Other theft — 722 of 1,928 incidents (37%) reported within 1 km of the neighborhood center through March 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.