Non-NYers deem Prospect Heights richest-looking ‘hood

Prospect Heights is the richest-looking neighborhood in New York, as perceived by non-NYC residents, according to a survey reported on by the New York Post.

The brownstone-filled neighborhood was seen as the most affluent in a new study compiled by MIT researchers that asked non-New Yorkers to rate neighborhoods based on Google Street View images.

The Brooklyn neighborhood beat out Midtown East, which ranked as the second richest-looking neighborhood in the city, and the Upper East Side, which ranked at Number Three.

Some believe that the surplus of trees and flower gardens in the area is what make Prospect Heights look to affluent, even though the 2010 Census shows that the median household income for Prospect Heights was $83,299 compared with $118,380 for the Upper East Side.

Meanwhile, the hip Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint came in as the poorest-looking, followed by fellow Brooklyn neighborhoods East New York and Canarsie, according to the study.

Prospect Heights also ranked as the safest-looking neighborhood in the city, while Greenpoint was perceived as the most dangerous, according to non-New Yorkers who took the survey. [NYP] – James Comtois