Neighborhood Overview

Crown Heights is a large, diverse neighborhood in central Brooklyn bounded roughly by Atlantic Avenue, Eastern Parkway, Ralph Avenue, and Washington Avenue. Home to the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and a historically significant Caribbean and Hasidic Jewish community, Crown Heights has become one of Brooklyn's fastest-changing neighborhoods.

Common Property Types

Brownstones and limestone rowhouses, prewar walk-up apartments, NYCHA developments, newer condos and mixed-use buildings, and scattered single-family homes. Eastern Parkway features grand apartment buildings.

Typical Building Ages

Rowhouses from the 1890s-1920s predominate. Apartment buildings from the 1920s-1940s along the major avenues. NYCHA towers from the 1950s-1960s. New construction from the 2010s-2020s along Franklin and Nostrand Avenues.

Common Violations

HPD housing code violations (heat, hot water, pests, lead paint), illegal conversions of single-family homes to multi-unit, construction without permits, facade maintenance, and fire safety violations.

Property Tax Information

Rapidly rising assessed values. Brownstones in Tax Class 1 with significant gaps between assessed and market values due to caps. Newer condos face market-rate assessments.

Zoning Information

R6, R6A, R6B, and R7A residential zoning with C2 commercial overlays on major corridors. No comprehensive rezoning has occurred, leading to as-of-right new construction that sometimes conflicts with the existing low-rise character.

Notable Developments

The Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment brought mixed-use development. Rapid development along Franklin Avenue and Nostrand Avenue corridors continues to reshape the neighborhood.