C6-3X Zoning District — New York City
C6-3X is a contextual, high-density General Central Commercial District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
C6-3X is a contextual, high-density General Central 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 9 and the maximum commercial FAR is 6. 83 tax lots citywide carry C6-3X as their primary zoning designation.
Mapped across roughly 83 tax lots, this designation combines a broad and comparatively deep recorded development gap: 86% of lots show floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 5.1 FAR. The stock is mostly prewar — 74% predate 1940, median year 1920 — and 65% of lots are classified residential, with buildings rising to a median of 5 stories and 33% recorded above 6 floors.
What actually stands in this district
This designation covers roughly 83 tax lots on record, a modest footprint, with a stock that is substantially prewar: 74% of recorded buildings predate 1940 and the median construction year is 1920. The 1945-to-1975 boom contributed 10% of the stock, and construction since 2000 adds another 9% — both minority shares against buildings that mostly arrived earlier. Those two later-era shares sit close together, 10% and 9%, unlike some designations where one clearly outweighs the other. That layering — a substantially prewar core with two thin but nearly matched later-era shares — describes a designation whose building timeline steadied rather than accelerated after the war.
Condominium classifications lead the decodable building classes at 16% of the recorded mix, with mixed residential-commercial buildings at 13%. By land use, mixed residential-and-commercial use covers 55% of lots and commercial-and-office use another 24%, with multi-family elevator buildings at 6%. Residential use overall reaches 65% of lots, and the records count 3,115 homes across the designation — a moderate population for a designation of this size.
Lots run to a median of 3,391 square feet, with the 90th percentile considerably larger at 21,231 — a wide spread between the typical parcel and the largest ones on record. Buildings rise to a median of 5 stories, with 33% recorded above 6 floors. A recorded 2% of lots carry a historic-district designation, and 0% sit inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area, leaving flood exposure entirely off the map here. That contrast in lot size, alongside the near-total absence of mapped flood risk, sets the ground conditions against which the recorded development gap below plays out.
The development ledger here is unusual in combining breadth with depth: 86% of lots record some floor area below their allowance, and the median residual itself is substantial, at 5.1 FAR — a wider recorded gap than a lot fabric this size might suggest. The rules tables above carry the governing FAR and height figures with their citations, and each lot's own recorded floor-area detail is held at the individual tax-lot level across this small set.
No stat family in this designation's file comes back nulled for coverage; every measure here reflects a complete count rather than a partial one. That matters because the combination recorded here — broad headroom at 86% of lots paired with a comparatively large median residual of 5.1 FAR — sits alongside a stock that is 74% prewar and only modestly sized at 83 lots. Each lot's own recorded floor-area and historic status is tracked lot by lot across the full set.
Bulk rules for C6-3X
| 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). | 9 | 6 | 9 | Base 60–125 ft · Max 165 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 34-112, § 23-43, § 23-431, § 23-432, § 33-122 (via § 11-25 from C6-3) |
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 C6-3X
- 770 11 Avenue — 94,463 sq ft lot, 11.46 built FAR, built 2009
- 252 7 Avenue — 49,375 sq ft lot, 12.63 built FAR, built 1910
- 362 9 Avenue — 21,725 sq ft lot, 15.6 built FAR, built 1931
- 229 7 Avenue — 18,415 sq ft lot, 11.52 built FAR, built 1987
- 200 West 26 Street — 12,994 sq ft lot, 20.32 built FAR, built 2000
- 215 7 Avenue — 28,751 sq ft lot, 3.8 built FAR, built 1973
- 695 Avenue of the Amer — 33,780 sq ft lot, 5.52 built FAR, built 1889
- 148 West 23 Street — 10,097 sq ft lot, 12.58 built FAR, built 1910
- 245 7 Avenue — 6,883 sq ft lot, 9.09 built FAR, built 1911
- 101 West 23 Street — 19,738 sq ft lot, 4.8 built FAR, built 1958
- 400 8 Avenue — 8,365 sq ft lot, 9.16 built FAR, built 1924
- 155 West 23 Street — 5,925 sq ft lot, 11.64 built FAR, built 1910
C6-3X — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in C6-3X?
- 9, as of right, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 34-112, § 23-43, § 23-431, § 23-432, § 33-122 (via § 11-25 from C6-3). 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 C6-3X?
- 6, as of right, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 34-112, § 23-43, § 23-431, § 23-432, § 33-122 (via § 11-25 from C6-3). Site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify it — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
- Is C6-3X a contextual district?
- Yes. C6-3X is a contextual district — its bulk rules pair floor-area ceilings with prescribed base and maximum building heights intended to mirror existing neighborhood form.
- What era were most buildings in this designation built?
- Mostly prewar: 74% of recorded buildings predate 1940, the median year is 1920, 10% date from the 1945-to-1975 boom, and 9% have gone up since 2000.
- What share of lots here are used for housing?
- 65% of lots are classified residential, and the records count 3,115 homes across the designation.
- Are lots with this designation in a mapped flood zone?
- No — 0% of these lots sit inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area.
- How much recorded development headroom exists on these lots?
- 86% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 5.1 FAR.
Keep learning
What do the C6-3X 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.