UES, Bay Ridge among NYC’s best neighborhoods to raise kids

The Upper East Side is New York City’s best place to raise children, ranking first out of 59 neighborhoods in a new report by the Citizen’s Committee of Children seen by the New York Daily News. Bay Ridge is Brooklyn’s best area to raise children, beating out even Park Slope, while East Harlem’s high crime, poverty and foster care rates were responsible for its 50th place ranking.

Bay Ridge ranked fourth citywide on the report, which takes into account factors such as home ownership, parents with stable jobs, and well-reputed public schools. Meanwhile, Park Slope, which is traditionally thought of as the most family-friendly area in Brooklyn, placed 15th.

“It’s a well-kept secret,” Mair Elfont, a Bay Ridge mother of three who is a transplant from the Upper West Side, told the Daily News. “It’s more old-school. It is more traditional. It is not as crowded as Park Slope. People aren’t on top of you all the time.”

Contrary to popular belief, Bay Ridge is also home to some of Brooklyn’s priciest real estate, as The Real Deal previously reported. [NYDN]  –Hiten Samtani