Two Brooklyn Neighborhoods Reveal Rich-Poor Coronavirus Divide

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — What a difference a zip code — and income — can make when it comes to numbers of coronavirus cases in Brooklyn.

The 11213 zip code split roughly equally between Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy has 394 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Tuesday — the 17th-most of any zip in the city, new data shows.

But move over a zip code or two toward Prospect Park and the numbers change dramatically.

The 11216 zip code still straddles Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy, but the cases drop to 162. It ranks 104th of city zip codes for coronavirus cases.

One more zip — 11238 — is Prospect Heights with 183 confirmed cases, which pretty much exactly middle-of-the-road for coronavirus cases at this point in time.

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So what's the difference?

It appears generally that the lower a zip code's income the higher the number of coronavirus cases, as first reported by the New York Times.

People living in 11213 typically make about $35,000 a year, according to U.S. Census data.

The 11216 zip code's typical yearly income is about $61,000, the Census reported.

And the typical Prospect Heights resident rakes in about $85,000 a year.

There are exceptions, particularly in Williamsburg's and Greenpoint's 11211 zip code. Its residents make about $71,000 a year and the zip's 601 coronavirus cases are the sixth-most in the city.

But 19 of the 20 lowest concentrations of coronavirus cases hail from affluent zip codes, the New York Times reported.

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