Just what can a Brooklyn zip code can tell you about a neighborhood? After all, Forbes Magazine runs articles such as America's Most Expensive Zip Codes, as though zip codes were indicators of socio-economic status.
With almost 50 different postal zip codes, Brooklyn probably has more zip codes than most cities in the United States. Are zip codes in gentrifying Brooklyn useful barometers of wealth or poverty? Should people looking for an apartment or real estate in Brooklyn trust the use of zip codes as barometers of "good" neighborhoods?
In short, no. Here's why.
Three Myths About Zip Codes in Brooklyn.
1. Myth Number 1 — Each Zip Code Describes One Specific Brooklyn Neighborhood
It's a myth that each Brooklyn neighborhood has a unique zip code.
For instance, 11201 covers DUMBO and Brookyn Heights, both million-plus dollar residential areas. It also covers Downtown Brooklyn's slightly seedy Fulton Mall. Simliarly, 11224 covers America's most democratic public playground, rough-and-tumble Coney Island — and the gated community of Sea Gate.
And, neighborhood boundaries shift. (Giving an area a new name may help increase housing values.) For instance, the residential area near Green-wood Cemetery was in zip code 11232 years before it became "Greenwood Heights."
In Brooklyn, unlike smaller towns, zip codes don't reflect precise neighborhood lines.
More about Brooklyn zip codes by neighborhood name.
2. Myth Number 2 — Zip Codes Match Voting Districts
It's a myth that Brooklyn zip codes match voting districts. But it surprises precisely nobody when the fancier parts of town seem, mysteriously, to get better services. So, following Forbes Magazine's logic (see above), a "good" Brooklyn zip code might, in theory, offer such benefits as faster street repair, reliable trash removal, and very responsive elected officials.
In fact, Brooklyn zip codes don't correlate with political districts. Zip codes were created by the US Postal Service in the pre-Internet era for the purpose of improved mail delivery, period. (A fascinating short history of the zip code idea.)
3. Myth Number 3 — Zip Codes Can Be Used to Identify the Best Schools in Brooklyn
It's a myth that Brooklyn's "best public schools" are in Brooklyn's "best" zip codes.
It is true that some of Brooklyn's most highly-rated public schools are in upscale neighborhoods. (PS 321's parent association in Park Slope raises extra funds to supplement thinly stretched public school budgets). But others are located in socio-economically mixed areas.
Zip codes cannot be used to automatically identify the best public schools in Brooklyn.
- Many neighborhoods have more than one zip code. (See Brooklyn zip codes by number)
- Any given Brooklyn zip code is not necessarily neatly congruent with other important neighborhood boundaries.
- As a result, two families might share the same zip code but not be in the same elementary school district.
4. What a Brooklyn Zip Code Can Tell You (or Not)
As a rose is just a rose, a zip code is just a postal zip code. At least in Brooklyn, zip codes lump together disparate people, different racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic strata.
What a Brooklyn Zip Code Can Tell You (or Not)
- A Brooklyn zip code may help people unfamiliar with the area to locate the general vicinity of a Brooklyn neighborhood.
- A Brooklyn zip code won't lead one to the best neighborhood, school, or public services.
What a Brookyn zip code will do, however, is what it was designed to do: help you get your mail promptly, and efficiently.
