C1-6 Zoning District — New York City
C1-6 is a low-density Local Commercial District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
C1-6 is a low-density Local Commercial District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City. It allows commercial uses, and generally also housing under the rules of a residential-equivalent district. Under the as of right — narrow street rules, the maximum residential FAR is 3.44 and the maximum commercial FAR is 2. 452 tax lots citywide carry C1-6 as their primary zoning designation.
Records for lots carrying this designation describe one of the oldest and most historically layered stocks in the file: a median construction year of 1854, with 95% of buildings predating 1940 and just 1% built since 2000. Fully 97% of these roughly 450 lots also sit inside a designated historic district. Buildings run to a median of 4 stories, with 4% rising above 6 floors, and 60% of lots record floor area below their allowance.
What actually stands in this district
Few designations in the file carry a building stock this old. The median construction year on lots zoned this way is 1854, and 95% of recorded buildings predate 1940 — among the deepest prewar concentrations any designation here shows. The 1945-1975 postwar boom left almost no mark, accounting for only 3% of the stock, and just 1% of buildings have gone up since 2000. What stands is largely what was built well over a century ago, with only the barest trickle of replacement or infill since then. That combination — a median construction year of 1854 and a prewar share above 95% — puts this designation among the oldest, by the numbers, of any profiled in this file.
That age lines up with an almost total historic-district overlap: 97% of these roughly 450 lots sit inside a designated historic district, meaning landmark review governs nearly every parcel carrying this designation. That degree of overlap is not something every old-reading designation in this file can claim; a stock this prewar doesn't always carry matching landmark status across nearly all of its footprint. The recorded building classes follow a classic attached pattern — walk-up apartment buildings lead at 32%, mixed residential-and-commercial buildings follow at 31%, and one-family homes add 9%. By land use, mixed residential-and-commercial use covers 51% of lots, multi-family walk-up use 22%, and one- and two-family use 16%. Altogether 95% of lots are coded residential, and the file counts 6,315 homes across the designation — a dense figure given how few of these lots run to any real size.
The lot fabric is tight: a median of 1,557 square feet, with even the 90th-percentile lots reaching only 5,115 square feet. On ground this constrained, the recorded median height of 4 stories and the 4% share of buildings above 6 floors read as a description of what was physically buildable on parcels this size, not a departure from any pattern. None of these lots, 0%, sit inside the mapped federal flood zone, an absence that sets this designation's exposure apart from some of the waterfront-adjacent designations elsewhere in the file.
On the development side, 60% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 0.4 FAR — modest room on parcels already this small and this densely built, and one of the narrower recorded margins in this batch. Every one of these roughly 450 lots keeps its own recorded figures on file, distinct from any citywide share. A closer look at any single parcel's numbers lives on that lot's own page; the citywide rules for this designation, floor area and height alike, are cited in the tables above.
Bulk rules for C1-6
| Context | Residential FAR | Commercial FAR | Community facility FAR | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of right — narrow street§ 33-432 slope differs by street type: 2.7:1 narrow / 5.6:1 wide. | 3.44 | 2 | 6.5 | NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 33-43, § 33-432, § 34-112 |
| As of right — wide street§ 33-432 slope differs by street type: 2.7:1 narrow / 5.6:1 wide. | 4 | 2 | 6.5 | NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 33-43, § 33-432, § 34-112 |
Values from the NYC Zoning Resolution, verified 2026-06-12; site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify them — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
About commercial districts
Commercial districts allow retail, office, and service uses, and most also allow housing under the rules of a residential-equivalent district. Commercial bulk is governed by § 33- of the NYC Zoning Resolution.
Contextual districts pair their floor-area ceilings with prescribed base and maximum building heights so new buildings mirror existing neighborhood form; non-contextual districts govern the envelope through more general height and setback rules, such as sky exposure planes. Commercial districts also allow residences under the rules of a residential-equivalent district, while manufacturing districts generally exclude new residences. Overlays and special purpose districts can modify any of this on a specific lot.
Example lots zoned C1-6
- 320 West 13 Street — 18,177 sq ft lot, 9.99 built FAR, built 1912
- 631 Hudson Street — 16,682 sq ft lot, 15.72 built FAR, built 1964
- 2 Horatio Street — 16,225 sq ft lot, 13.5 built FAR, built 1931
- 330 Bleecker Street — 11,925 sq ft lot, 11.47 built FAR, built 1931
- 23 Greenwich Avenue — 13,422 sq ft lot, 10.65 built FAR, built 1961
- 302 West 12 Street — 10,462 sq ft lot, 11.81 built FAR, built 1931
- 607 Hudson Street — 8,185 sq ft lot, 5.72 built FAR, built 1905
- 345 West 13 Street — 18,509 sq ft lot, 6.83 built FAR, built 1920
- 1 Christopher Street — 8,060 sq ft lot, 12.7 built FAR, built 1931
- 299 West 12 Street — 10,875 sq ft lot, 12.22 built FAR, built 1931
- 54 8 Avenue — 11,245 sq ft lot, 11.3 built FAR, built 1959
- 350 Bleecker Street — 19,157 sq ft lot, 4.85 built FAR, built 1963
C1-6 — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in C1-6?
- 3.44, as of right — narrow street, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 33-43, § 33-432, § 34-112. Site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify it — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
- What is the maximum commercial FAR in C1-6?
- 2, as of right — narrow street, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 33-43, § 33-432, § 34-112. Site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify it — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
- Is C1-6 a contextual district?
- No. C1-6 is not a contextual district; its building envelope is governed by the district's general height and setback rules rather than a prescribed contextual envelope.
- How old are the buildings on lots zoned this way?
- Very old on the whole: a median construction year of 1854, with 95% of buildings predating 1940. Only 3% date from the 1945-1975 boom, and just 1% have gone up since 2000.
- Are these lots inside a historic district?
- Almost entirely: 97% of these roughly 450 lots carry historic-district status, one of the highest recorded overlaps in the file.
- What kind of buildings stand on lots carrying this designation?
- Walk-up apartment buildings lead at 32%, followed by mixed residential-and-commercial buildings at 31% and one-family homes at 9%. Overall, 95% of lots are coded residential, holding 6,315 homes.
- Is there recorded room to build more on these lots?
- Some, but modest: 60% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of just 0.4 FAR, on parcels with a median size of only 1,557 square feet.
Keep learning
What do the C1-6 rules mean for a specific lot?
PearlAudit resolves the governing zoning for any NYC tax lot — district, overlays, special districts — and cites the Zoning Resolution section behind every rule claim.
District data: NYC municipal records (Department of City Planning) and the NYC Zoning Resolution. See our sources and methodology. Parcel data as of 2026-07-11.