Real Estate

New Apartments Are Flooding These NYC Neighborhoods

Two outer-borough neighborhoods are leading the Big Apple in apartment construction, a new report shows.

Bushwick is expected to see more new apartments this year than any other neighborhood in NYC, according to RentCafe.
Bushwick is expected to see more new apartments this year than any other neighborhood in NYC, according to RentCafe. (Photo by Kathleen Culliton/Patch)

NEW YORK — Even the cranes are moving farther away from Manhattan. New apartments are flooding two outer-borough neighborhoods more than anywhere else in the city, a report released Wednesday shows.

Some 1,103 new units are expected to go up in Bushwick, Brooklyn by the end of this year, the most of any neighborhood in the Big Apple, according to RentCafe's analysis of new construction.

Jamaica, Queens will see the second-largest glut of new housing with 553 apartments expected to be added in 2019, the real estate website says.

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The outer-borough boom comes despite a cooling-off in new construction across the New York metropolitan area, according to RentCafe. The region ranks third in the nation for projected new units this year with 13,418 following its first-place position in 2018, the report says.

Easy access to public transit is part of the reason developers are flocking to Bushwick and Jamaica, according to RentCafe research analyst Nadia Balint.

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The former lies just a few stops past Williamsburg on the L train, making it "increasingly attractive for young residents priced out of Manhattan," Balint said. The neighborhood has also seen growth in large-scale development — 900 of its new apartments are in the enormous Denizen Bushwick complex, she said.

"Increasing apartment development in sprawling Bushwick, Brooklyn comes as a response to a transforming neighborhood," Balint said in a statement.

Jamaica, on the other hand, lies just about 45 minutes from Manhattan on the Long Island Rail Road, RentCafe says. It's seen an influx of new apartment construction because of increasing demand, according to Balint.

"Jamaica’s attractiveness lies in its easy accessibility and a positive vibe which has rapidly pushed it to a 'hot neighborhood' status," Balint said, adding that Jamaica is more affordable than other parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

Six of the top eight neighborhoods for new construction lie in those two boroughs, according to RentCafe. Manhattan claimed two spots: Harlem at No. 4 and Hell's Kitchen at No. 6, the report shows.

Brooklyn dominates the metropolitan area's new development with 3,140 new units expected this year, followed by Manhattan with 2,143, RentCafe says. Queens falls just behind Jersey City with 1,333 projected new apartments, according to the website.

Here are New York City's top neighborhoods for new apartment construction in 2019, according to RentCafe. Read the full report here.

  1. Bushwick — 1,103 units
  2. Jamaica — 553 units
  3. Astoria — 508 units
  4. Harlem — 471 units
  5. Williamsburg — 396 units
  6. Hell's Kitchen — 384 units
  7. Downtown Brooklyn — 381 units
  8. Fort Greene — 328 units

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