C6-5 Zoning District — New York City
C6-5 is a high-density General Central Commercial District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
C6-5 is a 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. Under the as of right — narrow street rules, the maximum residential FAR is 10 and the maximum commercial FAR is 10. 63 tax lots citywide carry C6-5 as their primary zoning designation.
Across roughly 63 tax lots, this designation records the widest development gap in this set: 76% of lots show floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 6.6. The stock beneath that gap is old — 82% of recorded buildings predate 1940, the median dates to 1925 — and thin on housing, with just 24% of lots recorded as residential and 2,056 units on the books. Commercial and office land use covers 63% of the lots.
What actually stands in this district
Of the designations covered on these pages, this one carries the largest recorded development gap: a median residual of 6.6, with 76% of its roughly 63 tax lots recording floor area below their allowance. That is a records fact about built floor area against a mapped allowance, not a statement about what could or should be built — the rules tables above carry the governing figures and citations for any specific lot, with the legal basis attached.
The stock itself is old by any measure: 82% of recorded buildings predate 1940, and the median construction year is 1925 — among the oldest median years in this set. The 1945-to-1975 building boom barely touched these lots, adding just 5% of the recorded stock, and only 11% of buildings have gone up since 2000. Little has changed here in the better part of a century, which helps explain why so much recorded floor area still sits below what current rules would allow.
Land use leans heavily commercial: 63% of lots are logged under commercial-and-office use, 17% under mixed residential-and-commercial use, and 6% under multi-family elevator use. The leading building classes fall outside this page's decoded set, though elevator apartment buildings hold a recorded 11%. Only 24% of lots are recorded as residential, and the file counts 2,056 units — a small residential footprint inside a commercially coded designation where offices and commercial floors otherwise dominate the record.
Buildings run to a median of 5 stories, with 36% of the recorded stock rising above 6 floors — a low-rise profile relative to the size of the recorded development gap. Lots run larger than the smallest in this set, with a median of 8,034 square feet and a 90th percentile of 23,650. None of these lots, 0%, sit inside the mapped federal flood zone on the current map — a reading of the flood map, not a record of flooding on the ground.
Taken as a whole, the file describes a commercially coded designation where age, thin residential use, and a wide recorded development gap all point in the same direction: little has been rebuilt here in decades, and what stands falls well short of the floor area current allowances would support. That combination is less common elsewhere in this set, where high recorded headroom more often pairs with a mix of building eras rather than one dominant prewar generation. The rules tables above carry the governing figures for any specific lot, with citations.
Bulk rules for C6-5
| 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. | 10 | 10 | 10 | NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 33-43, § 33-432, § 33-451, § 34-112 |
| As of right — wide street§ 33-432 slope differs by street type: 2.7:1 narrow / 5.6:1 wide. | 10 | 10 | 10 | NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 33-43, § 33-432, § 33-451, § 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 C6-5
- 229 West 43 Street — 50,637 sq ft lot, 11.64 built FAR, built 1932
- 235 West 48 Street — 24,100 sq ft lot, 19.72 built FAR, built 1989
- 242 West 53 Street — 29,125 sq ft lot, 18.62 built FAR, built 2015
- 219 West 46 Street — 29,500 sq ft lot, 13.54 built FAR, built 1930
- 235 West 46 Street — 15,062 sq ft lot, 14.33 built FAR, built 1928
- 740 8 Avenue — 33,080 sq ft lot, 23.46 built FAR, built 2023
- 234 West 48 Street — 9,550 sq ft lot, 12.26 built FAR, built 1927
- 680 8 Avenue — 17,575 sq ft lot, 12.03 built FAR, built 1920
- 244 West 49 Street — 8,034 sq ft lot, 16.74 built FAR, built 2025
- 218 West 50 Street — 6,025 sq ft lot, 14.04 built FAR, built 2012
- 224 West 49 Street — 6,527 sq ft lot, 14.71 built FAR, built 1927
- 223 West 46 Street — 5,020 sq ft lot, 12.33 built FAR, built 2021
C6-5 — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in C6-5?
- 10, as of right — narrow street, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 33-43, § 33-432, § 33-451, § 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 C6-5?
- 10, as of right — narrow street, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 33-122, § 33-123, § 33-25, § 33-26, § 33-43, § 33-432, § 33-451, § 34-112. Site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify it — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
- Is C6-5 a contextual district?
- No. C6-5 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 much recorded development headroom is there on lots zoned this way?
- More than any other designation in this set: 76% of lots show floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 6.6.
- How old are the buildings in this district?
- Old: 82% of recorded buildings predate 1940, the highest prewar share in this set, with a median construction year of 1925.
- Is this a mostly residential designation?
- No — only 24% of its roughly 63 tax lots are recorded as residential, with 2,056 units on the books; land use leans commercial at 63%.
- Do these lots sit in a flood zone?
- On the current federal map, 0% of these lots fall inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — a reading of the map, not a record of past flooding.
Keep learning
What do the C6-5 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.