M1-2 Zoning District — New York City
M1-2 is a low-density Light Manufacturing District (High Performance) (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
M1-2 is a low-density Light Manufacturing District (High Performance) (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City. It allows industrial and commercial uses; new residences are generally excluded. Under the as of right — narrow street rules, the maximum commercial FAR is 2. 2,844 tax lots citywide carry M1-2 as their primary zoning designation.
At 2,800 tax lots citywide, this is the largest designation profiled in this batch, and its recorded stock leans industrial: land use here is 33% industrial, and warehouses lead the building classes at 19%. Only 29% of lots are coded residential, yet the file still counts 9,124 homes. Lot sizes spread widely, from a 4,750-square-foot median to a 23,495-square-foot 90th percentile, and the file has no reliable development-capacity figures for this designation.
What actually stands in this district
At 2,800 tax lots citywide, this is the largest designation profiled in this batch by a wide margin — several times the footprint of most of the others. The recorded building classes lean toward industrial and storage uses: warehouses lead at 19%, garages follow at 15%, and factory and industrial buildings add 13%. Land use tells the same story more starkly, with industrial use covering 33% of the 2,800 lots, well ahead of multi-family walk-up use at 11% and one- and two-family use at 10%. Both measures point in the same direction: whatever housing exists on this footprint sits alongside a dominant recorded industrial base rather than the other way around.
Despite that industrial lean, only 29% of these lots are coded residential — yet the file still counts 9,124 homes across the designation, a large absolute number produced by sheer scale rather than by a high residential share. The median construction year is 1931, with 65% of the stock predating 1940. The 1945-1975 postwar boom added 17% of the recorded buildings, and 9% of the stock has gone up since 2000 — a steadier trickle of recent construction than some of the smaller, older designations in this file show, likely reflecting how much more total building activity a footprint this size can register even at a modest percentage share.
Lot sizes here spread widely: a median of 4,750 square feet against a 90th-percentile figure of 23,495 square feet, among the widest gaps between typical and large parcels in this batch — consistent with a designation that mixes modest, rowhouse-scale lots against large assembled industrial ground. Heights stay mostly low, at a median of 2 stories, though 1% of recorded buildings rise above 6 floors, a small but real share given how many lots this designation covers citywide.
The federal flood map places 12% of these 2,800 lots inside the mapped flood zone — a statement about the regulatory boundary, not a record of which individual lots have taken on water. None of the lots, 0%, carry historic-district status on record. This is one designation where the development ledger goes quiet: the file carries no reliable floor-area-capacity figures for it, so neither a headroom share nor a residual-FAR number can be quoted here — the gap sits in the coverage, not in a judgment about what could rise on any of these lots. Each lot's own recorded specifics, and the rules that govern the designation, live on that lot's page and in the tables above.
Bulk rules for M1-2
| Context | Commercial FAR | Community facility FAR | Manufacturing FAR | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of right — narrow street§ 43-43 slope differs by street type: 2.7:1 narrow / 5.6:1 wide. | 2 | 4.8 | 2 | NYC Zoning Resolution § 43-12, § 43-122, § 43-25, § 43-26, § 43-43 |
| As of right — wide street§ 43-43 slope differs by street type: 2.7:1 narrow / 5.6:1 wide. | 2 | 4.8 | 2 | NYC Zoning Resolution § 43-12, § 43-122, § 43-25, § 43-26, § 43-43 |
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 manufacturing districts
Manufacturing districts allow industrial and many commercial uses; new residences are generally excluded. Manufacturing bulk is governed by § 43- 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 M1-2
- 66-26 Metropolitan Avenue — 960,770 sq ft lot, 1.64 built FAR, built 1973
- 930 Flushing Avenue — 225,264 sq ft lot, 1.35 built FAR, built 1988
- 815 Hutchinson Rvr Pkwy — 343,891 sq ft lot, 0.85 built FAR, built 2013
- 55 Wythe Avenue — 50,000 sq ft lot, 3.7 built FAR, built 2017
- 19 Kent Avenue — 80,000 sq ft lot, 6.06 built FAR, built 2017
- 29 Ryerson Street — 35,483 sq ft lot, 6.44 built FAR, built 1951
- 97 Wythe Avenue — 20,000 sq ft lot, 4.01 built FAR, built 2015
- 75 North 11 Street — 11,105 sq ft lot, 6.53 built FAR, built 1901
- 96 Wythe Avenue — 21,875 sq ft lot, 3.58 built FAR, built 2017
- 1201 Lafayette Avenue — 178,800 sq ft lot, 2.06 built FAR, built 1910
- 48-02 48th Avenue — 110,445 sq ft lot, 2.13 built FAR, built 2024
- 130-02 South Conduit Ave — 118,878 sq ft lot, 2.78 built FAR, built 2021
M1-2 — quick questions
- What is the maximum commercial FAR in M1-2?
- 2, as of right — narrow street, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 43-12, § 43-122, § 43-25, § 43-26, § 43-43. Site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify it — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
- Is M1-2 a contextual district?
- No. M1-2 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 many tax lots are zoned M1-2?
- 2,844 tax lots citywide carry M1-2 as their primary zoning designation, per NYC municipal records as of 2026-07-11.
- How many tax lots carry this designation?
- 2,800 citywide, the largest footprint in this batch by a wide margin.
- What kind of buildings stand on lots carrying this designation?
- Industrial and storage uses lead: warehouses at 19%, garages at 15%, and factory and industrial buildings at 13%. By land use, industrial use covers 33% of the 2,800 lots.
- Are lots with this designation in a flood zone?
- Some are: 12% of these lots sit inside the mapped federal flood zone, a statement about the regulatory map rather than a record of actual flooding.
- Is there recorded development capacity on these lots?
- Not knowably: this designation's development figures are missing from the file, so no headroom share or residual-FAR number can be given for it — a gap in coverage, not a judgment about what these lots could hold.
- How old are the buildings recorded under this designation?
- Mostly prewar: the median construction year is 1931, and 65% of the stock predates 1940. A further 17% dates from the 1945-1975 boom, and 9% has been built since 2000.
Keep learning
What do the M1-2 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.