After statistician Nate Silver (best known for his accurate predictions of the 2008 presidential primaries) ranked Brooklyn's Greenpoint as the fifth best neighborhood in the city, residents have felt everything from legitimized to confused. Silver rated each neighborhood on criteria like safety, access to transportation and nightlife, and Greenpoint beat out many more popular neighborhoods like the East Village, Williamsburg and Bushwick. One local teacher told the Times, “We’re on the map. I think we deserve even one, or two." But others weren't convinced they deserved such a high spot.
Though Greenpoint is quiet, has good schools and boasts stunning views of Manhattan, it does have quite a few downsides. It is serviced by the sometimes unreliable G train, and borders the dirty Newton Creek. "The smells are bad; you know, they worry me," said resident Monique Aiuto. Greenpoint may have ranked high on safety, but Silver ranked it 51st for health and environment. They also ranked 38th in "Green Space" and 37th for diversity. Resident Shawn King said, "I like it, but I don’t know why we would be fifth...There are nice bars and restaurants. But it’s kind of dirty."
Many were also surprised that Sunnyside, Queens came in third place. Though Sunnyside had low ratings for nightlife and housing quality, they came in 1st for diversity and got high marks for housing cost, safety and schools. Park Slope was the best neighborhood overall, getting negative ranks only for housing cost and diversity.
