As New Yorkers make their way through a second week of scorching temperatures, real estate listings website StreetEasy took a look at which city neighborhoods have the highest percentages of rental apartments with central air — and the results are a bit surprising.
Central air is an amenity often associated with luxury new developments, and some of the neighborhoods most known for those types of units are on the list, such as Downtown Brooklyn, which ranks first with 42.3 percent, Williamsburg, fifth with 20.5 percent, and Midtown South, sixth with 19.3 percent.
Meanwhile, less-ritzy neighborhoods are also in the top 10. For example, Hunters Point is third on the list with 22.4 percent, Bed-Stuy is eighth with 16.8 percent, and Crown Heights is 10th with 14 percent.
The main reason why such a diverse array of neighborhoods are so high on the list — proving that central air is not reserved for just those who can afford luxury living — is that it’s a relatively inexpensive amenity to install compared to, say, an Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool, according to StreetEasy.
Central air is also increasingly being installed by property owners who are renovating their buildings, the site found.
“Central air is an attractive amenity for renters and it’s increasingly more common in new development buildings,” StreetEasy spokesperson Lauren Riefflin said. “Neighborhoods like Downtown Brooklyn and Hunter’s Point are attracting increasing attention from developers, contributing to larger shares of inventory with A/C in those areas.”
StreetEasy took its data from listings posted between March 15 and mid-July.
Here are the top 10 neighborhoods with the highest percentages of rental units with central air, according to StreetEasy data compiled from its listings:
Nabe – Number of units – Percentage with AC
1. Downtown Brooklyn – 713 – 42.5%
2. Stuyvesant Heights – 1,149 – 22.7%
3. Hunters Point – 1,056 – 22.4%
4. Bushwick – 2,637 – 21.6%
5. Williamsburg – 3,259 – 20.5%
6. Midtown South – 611 – 19.3%
7. Greenpoint – 1,067 – 19.2%
8. Bedford Stuyvesant – 1,579 – 16.8%
9. East Williamsburg – 511 – 15.5%
10. Crown Heights – 1,459 – 14%
