C4-4D Zoning District — New York City
C4-4D is a contextual, high-density General Commercial District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
C4-4D is a contextual, high-density General 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. As of right, the maximum residential FAR is 6.02 and the maximum commercial FAR is 3.4. 1,062 tax lots citywide carry C4-4D as their primary zoning designation.
Lots carrying this designation show the deepest recorded development gap in this profile: 93% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 4.3 FAR. The stock above that gap is mostly prewar — 72% of buildings predate 1940 — but 14% have gone up since 2000, and 10% of the recorded buildings rise above 6 floors. The file counts 14,434 homes across roughly 1,100 lots.
What actually stands in this district
This designation's development ledger shows a wide gap between recorded floor area and its recorded allowance: 93% of the roughly 1,100 lots carrying this designation record floor area below their allowance, and the median residual runs to 4.3 FAR — a substantial recorded gap. That combination of broad coverage across nearly all lots and real depth in the typical gap describes a stock that, on its own recorded baseline, still carries considerable unbuilt capacity. That kind of gap — wide in both how many lots it touches and how large the typical shortfall runs — is less common than either trait showing up alone.
The building stock above that gap is mostly prewar: 72% of recorded buildings predate 1940, and the median construction year is 1931. But the record does not stop there — 9% of buildings date from the 1945-to-1975 boom, and 14% more have gone up since 2000, a meaningfully recent share. Taken together, nearly a quarter of the recorded stock postdates the prewar period, describing a stock that has kept adding new construction rather than one frozen in its earliest form. Rather than one era accounting for nearly all of the recorded buildings, this designation shows meaningful contributions from three distinct periods, none of which can be dismissed as marginal.
By land use, mixed residential-commercial buildings lead at 35%, commercial-and-office uses add 24%, and multi-family walk-up buildings contribute a further 11%. Among recorded building classes, mixed residential-commercial structures make up 17% of the stock and walk-up apartment buildings 14% more. Residential lots make up 58% of the total, and the file counts 14,434 homes across these roughly 1,100 lots — a large homes count for a lot base of this size. Spread across the lot base, that housing count implies a real number of recorded homes on a typical parcel rather than just one or two units.
The lots run a median of 2,612 square feet, with the 90th percentile reaching 17,229 square feet. Buildings run to a median height of 3 stories, and 10% of the recorded stock rises above 6 floors — a real share of taller buildings mixed into the base. None of these lots sit inside a designated historic district or the mapped federal flood zone. With neither overlay complicating the picture, whatever redevelopment this recorded gap might eventually support would proceed against a comparatively uncomplicated regulatory backdrop, subject always to the figures the rules tables above set out for a given parcel.
Bulk rules for C4-4D
| Context | Residential FAR | Commercial FAR | Community facility FAR | Heights | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of rightContextual letter-suffix district; height/setback governed by § 23-43 per § 33-40 (out of this chunk's scope). | 6.02 | 3.4 | 6.5 | Base 60–95 ft · Max 125 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 34-112, § 23-43, § 23-431, § 23-432 |
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 C4-4D
- 166-20 90 Avenue — 99,500 sq ft lot, 7.16 built FAR, built 2022
- 280 St Nicholas Avenue — 61,660 sq ft lot, 5.03 built FAR, built 1998
- 8 Fountain Avenue — 38,992 sq ft lot, 8.49 built FAR, built 2023
- 58 Saint Marks Place — 18,080 sq ft lot, 6.9 built FAR, built 2019
- 376 4 Avenue — 20,000 sq ft lot, 10.29 built FAR, built 2024
- 100 West 125 Street — 32,800 sq ft lot, 4.89 built FAR, built 2013
- 204 4 Avenue — 19,000 sq ft lot, 10.23 built FAR, built 2023
- 68 Bradhurst Avenue — 34,293 sq ft lot, 6.54 built FAR, built 2005
- 35 4 Avenue — 18,000 sq ft lot, 8.75 built FAR, built 2022
- 4790 Broadway — 20,570 sq ft lot, 9.14 built FAR, built 2021
- 4511 Third Avenue — 52,182 sq ft lot, 5.49 built FAR, built 2017
- 535 4 Avenue — 18,191 sq ft lot, 6.41 built FAR, built 2015
C4-4D — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in C4-4D?
- 6.02, as of right, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 34-112, § 23-43, § 23-431, § 23-432. 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 C4-4D?
- 3.4, as of right, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 34-112, § 23-43, § 23-431, § 23-432. Site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify it — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
- Is C4-4D a contextual district?
- Yes. C4-4D is a contextual district — its bulk rules pair floor-area ceilings with prescribed base and maximum building heights intended to mirror existing neighborhood form.
- How much recorded room to build is there on lots with this designation?
- A great deal, on paper: 93% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 4.3 FAR — a substantial recorded gap. The governing allowance is in the rules tables above.
- What era were most buildings on these lots constructed in?
- Mostly prewar: 72% of recorded buildings predate 1940, with a median construction year of 1931. But 14% have gone up since 2000, a real share of recent construction.
- What's the building mix on lots zoned this way?
- Mostly mixed residential-commercial structures: that class leads recorded land use at 35%, on lots that are 58% residential and hold 14,434 homes, with 10% of the recorded stock rising above 6 floors.
- Do lots carrying this designation fall inside a flood zone?
- No: none of these roughly 1,100 lots are recorded inside the mapped federal flood zone.
Keep learning
What do the C4-4D 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.