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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 at a glance

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.

Bulk rules for C6-3X

ContextResidential FARCommercial FARCommunity facility FARHeightsCitation
As of right969Base 60–125 ft · Max 165 ftNYC 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 2026-09-03; site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify them — run a full lookup for a specific lot.

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.

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

Browse all 83 lots zoned C6-3X

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 2026-09-01.