M2-4 Zoning District — New York City
M2-4 is a medium-density Medium Manufacturing District (Medium Performance) (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
M2-4 is a medium-density Medium Manufacturing District (Medium 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 5. 81 tax lots citywide carry M2-4 as their primary zoning designation.
Records for lots carrying this designation describe the most recently built stock, on this measure, among comparable designations in this batch: 18% of buildings have gone up since 2000, and the median construction year, 1940, sits exactly at the line that defines the prewar era. Height runs to a median of 4 stories, with 18% above 6 floors, and 15% of these roughly 81 tax lots sit inside the mapped flood zone. A recorded 2% carry historic-district status.
What actually stands in this district
Of the designations in this batch that carry reliable year-built coverage, this one shows the most recent activity. The median construction year is 1940 — sitting exactly at the boundary that separates prewar construction from everything after it — and 18% of the recorded stock has been built since 2000, a notably larger recent share than most comparable designations in this file. Prewar construction still makes up 45% of the stock, and 16% falls inside the 1945-1975 postwar boom, so the file records activity across every era rather than concentrating in one, a spread that few designations elsewhere in this batch can show as evenly.
The recorded building classes lean toward vehicle and storage uses: garages lead at 28%, with warehouses and office buildings tied at 17% each. Land use runs 35% commercial and office, 19% industrial and manufacturing, and 15% mixed residential-and-commercial — a genuinely blended file rather than one dominated by a single use. Height stays mid-rise, a median of 4 stories, with 18% of recorded buildings rising above 6 floors, putting this designation between the low industrial sheds and the taller office corridors described elsewhere in this batch.
Only 18% of these roughly 81 lots are recorded as residential, yet the file counts 711 units in total — a meaningful housing presence layered onto what is largely a commercial-and-industrial file. Lots run to a median of 10,000 square feet, with the largest on record reaching 65,270 square feet. A recorded 2% of lots carry historic-district status, the largest such share among the designations covered in this batch, a small but genuine landmark presence inside a file otherwise built around commerce, industry, and vehicles.
The federal flood map places 15% of these lots inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area — a modest share, though not a negligible one. That is a statement about the regulatory flood boundary, not a record of which individual lots have taken on water. The file carries no reliable floor-area-capacity coverage for this designation, so no headroom figure can be reported here; the governing rules themselves, with their citations, sit in the tables above, alongside the recorded mix of uses and eras described in this file.
Bulk rules for M2-4
| Context | Commercial FAR | Manufacturing FAR | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| As of right — narrow streetCF FAR not set by § 43-122 in M2; slope 2.7:1 narrow / 5.6:1 wide. | 5 | 5 | NYC Zoning Resolution § 43-12, § 43-25, § 43-26, § 43-43 |
| As of right — wide streetCF FAR not set by § 43-122 in M2; slope 2.7:1 narrow / 5.6:1 wide. | 5 | 5 | NYC Zoning Resolution § 43-12, § 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 M2-4
- 601 West 26 Street — 124,100 sq ft lot, 14.79 built FAR, built 1931
- 261 11 Avenue — 136,000 sq ft lot, 8.54 built FAR, built 1892
- 636 11 Avenue — 65,270 sq ft lot, 8.12 built FAR, built 1917
- 787 11th Ave — 45,187 sq ft lot, 8.18 built FAR, built 1929
- 571 11 Avenue — 130,725 sq ft lot, 5.99 built FAR, built 1962
- 620 Joe Dimaggio Highway — 22,150 sq ft lot, 14.5 built FAR, built 2024
- 619 West 54 Street — 30,125 sq ft lot, 10.63 built FAR, built 1900
- 353 Spring Street — 85,450 sq ft lot, 5.04 built FAR, built 2011
- 660 Joe Dimaggio Highway — 80,293 sq ft lot, 2.94 built FAR, built 2001
- 653 11 Avenue — 10,042 sq ft lot, 15.27 built FAR, built 1929
- 760 Joe Dimaggio Highway — 35,145 sq ft lot, 4.34 built FAR, built 1930
- 711 11 Avenue — 22,595 sq ft lot, 5.22 built FAR, built 1930
M2-4 — quick questions
- What is the maximum commercial FAR in M2-4?
- 5, as of right — narrow street, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 43-12, § 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 M2-4 a contextual district?
- No. M2-4 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 M2-4?
- 81 tax lots citywide carry M2-4 as their primary zoning designation, per NYC municipal records as of 2026-07-11.
- How old are the buildings recorded under this designation?
- A genuine mix across every era: the median construction year is 1940, with 45% of the stock prewar, 16% from the 1945-1975 boom, and 18% built since 2000.
- What kind of buildings stand on lots with this designation?
- Mostly garages, warehouses, and offices: garages lead the recorded building classes at 28%, with warehouses and office buildings tied at 17% each.
- Are lots with this designation in a flood zone?
- Partly: 15% of these roughly 81 lots sit inside the mapped federal flood zone, a statement about the regulatory map rather than a record of actual flooding.
- Do any of these lots carry historic-district status?
- A small share: 2% of lots on record carry historic-district status, alongside the mostly commercial and industrial file described above.
Keep learning
What do the M2-4 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.