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We already know that New York graciously isn't the dirtiest city in the world, but that doesn’t mean Gotham doesn’t have its fair share of grit and grime. But which zip code, in particular, is the grubbiest of the bunch?
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For its latest study, the indoor air quality experts at HouseFresh have scoured local sanitary complaints across New York City, inspecting 644 categories related to sanitation issues including waste, recycling, garbage, etcetera. The findings revealed that, overall, the borough with the highest sanitation complaints was good ol' Brooklyn and, more specifically, its 11216 area (a.k.a. Bedford Stuyvesant), with 7,664 complaints per 100,000 population.
Rounding out the top five dirtiest zip codes in NYC were three Staten Island locales—10312 (Eltingville), 10306 (Great Kills) and 10309 (Pleasant Plains)—and 10474, Hunt's Point, up in the Bronx.
The title of cleanest New York-area zip code went to 11040 in New Hyde Park in Queens County, which only had 176 sanitation complaints per 100,000 population. Roosevelt Island (10044), Floral Park (11001), Coop City (10475) and Stuyvesant Park (10010) rounded out the rest of the squeaky-clean top five.
Along with the five boroughs, the study also dug into data from major cities throughout the U.S. Given the sheer populations and foot traffic, it’s not a surprise that cities, more so than rural areas, had higher levels of pollution and sanitation issues than their suburban and rural counterparts.
New York City as a whole placed 17th on the list of dirtiest cities in America, with 3,728 complaints per 100,000 population. (Honestly, we're pleasantly surprised!) Decidedly dirtier was Baltimore, Maryland, which ranked as number one with 47,295 complaints, followed by Sacramento, California with 34,186, Charlotte, North Carolina with 31,112, and Los Angeles, California with 21,616.
Check out the full breakdown of New York's dirtiest zip codes (where does your resident neighborhood fall on the list?) as well as a chart of the full US city rankings below:
