C1-7 Zoning District — New York City
C1-7 is a low-density Local Commercial District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
C1-7 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 6.02 and the maximum commercial FAR is 2. 72 tax lots citywide carry C1-7 as their primary zoning designation.
Records for lots carrying this designation show one of the taller recorded stocks in the file: a median height of 6 stories, with 43% of buildings rising above 6 floors. Elevator apartment buildings lead the building classes at 28%. The construction record spans real breadth — 60% of buildings predate 1940, while 22% date from the 1945-1975 postwar boom. These roughly 72 lots run large, with a median of 5,525 square feet.
What actually stands in this district
Height stands out on lots carrying this designation: a median of 6 stories, with 43% of recorded buildings rising above 6 floors — among the taller profiles in the file. Elevator apartment buildings lead the recorded classes at 28%, ahead of condominiums at 18% and walk-up apartment buildings at 15%, a mix weighted toward taller residential construction rather than the rowhouse or walk-up pattern common elsewhere in this batch. That combination of height and class order is a departure from the shorter, more uniform designations that dominate much of this batch.
The construction record spans three distinct eras rather than clustering in one. A median year of 1930 sits well within the prewar period, and 60% of buildings on record predate 1940. But the 1945-1975 postwar boom left a real mark too, at 22% of the stock — a notably larger boom-era share than most designations in this file carry — while 10% of buildings have gone up since 2000, adding a further, more recent layer on top of an already varied timeline. Read together, those three shares describe a stock shaped by three separate waves of construction rather than any single one dominating; few other designations in this set show all three eras contributing a double-digit share at once.
By land use, mixed residential-and-commercial use covers 38% of these roughly 72 lots, multi-family elevator use another 29%, and commercial-and-office use 14%. Overall, 75% of lots are coded residential, and the file counts 5,218 homes across the designation. Lots here run large by comparison with more tightly packed designations elsewhere: a median of 5,525 square feet, with the largest recorded parcels reaching 23,550 square feet — room enough, on the evidence, for the taller buildings that the height figures above describe, and among the more spacious lot profiles recorded in this batch.
Flood mapping places 11% of these lots inside the mapped federal zone, and 22% carry historic-district status — both meaningful minority shares rather than near-zero figures, sitting in the middle of the range this batch shows rather than at either extreme. On the development side, 69% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 1.2 FAR, one of the wider recorded gaps among comparable designations. The specific figures behind any one address sit on that lot's own page, while the citations for the floor-area and height rules governing this designation appear in the tables above.
Bulk rules for C1-7
| 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. | 6.02 | 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. | 7.2 | 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 C1-7
- 150 Charles Street — 47,493 sq ft lot, 5.58 built FAR, built 1938
- 20 University Place — 40,520 sq ft lot, 10.37 built FAR, built 1965
- 30 East 9 Street — 44,000 sq ft lot, 4.54 built FAR, built 1955
- 63 University Place — 29,235 sq ft lot, 6.23 built FAR, built 1923
- 83 University Place — 18,375 sq ft lot, 10.41 built FAR, built 1906
- 21 East 12 Street — 19,067 sq ft lot, 7.5 built FAR, built 2016
- 275 West 10 Street — 13,031 sq ft lot, 9.24 built FAR, built 1895
- 28 East 10 Street — 15,637 sq ft lot, 8.18 built FAR, built 1928
- 650 Washington Street — 27,825 sq ft lot, 5.95 built FAR, built 1964
- 486 Avenue of the Amer — 10,827 sq ft lot, 12.11 built FAR, built 1960
- 173 Perry Street — 14,219 sq ft lot, 5.56 built FAR, built 2001
- 505 La Guardia Place — 43,930 sq ft lot, 4.84 built FAR, built 1967
C1-7 — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in C1-7?
- 6.02, 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 C1-7?
- 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 C1-7 a contextual district?
- No. C1-7 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 tall does the recorded stock run here?
- Taller than most: a median of 6 stories, with 43% of recorded buildings rising above 6 floors.
- Which building class is most common on lots zoned this way?
- Elevator apartment buildings lead at 28%, ahead of condominiums at 18% and walk-up apartment buildings at 15%.
- When were most buildings on these lots built?
- A median year of 1930, with 60% predating 1940. The 1945-1975 postwar boom accounts for 22% of the stock, and 10% has gone up since 2000.
- How much headroom shows up in the records here?
- 69% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 1.2 FAR.
- Do these lots fall inside the mapped flood zone?
- A minority but real share: 11% of these roughly 72 lots sit inside the mapped federal flood zone.
Keep learning
What do the C1-7 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.