R3X Zoning District — New York City
R3X is a contextual, low-density Detached Residence District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
R3X is a contextual, low-density Detached Residence District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City. It principally allows housing and community facilities. As of right, the maximum residential FAR is 0.75. 52,339 tax lots citywide carry R3X as their primary zoning designation.
No designation in this bracket has kept building as recently as this one: 13% of its recorded stock dates from 2000 or later, the highest recent share among the ten designations profiled here, on top of a stock that is already 40% postwar-boom construction. A recorded 1% of these roughly 52,000 lots also carry historic-district status — rare in this bracket. 86% of lots record floor area below their allowance.
What actually stands in this district
This designation has kept adding new construction more recently than any other profiled in this batch: 13% of its recorded buildings date from 2000 or later, the highest such share in this set. That recency sits on top of a stock already shaped by the postwar era — 40% of buildings date from the 1945-1975 boom, tied for the largest boom-era share here — while just 32% predate 1940. The median construction year, 1955, comes later than most of the other designations in this bracket, and the combination of a late median year with a real recent-construction share is unusual in this batch, where most designations show one or the other but not both.
A recorded 1% of these roughly 52,000 lots carry historic-district status — a small share, but a rare one in this batch, where most of the neighboring low-rise designations show no historic-district overlap at all. One-family homes lead the recorded building classes at 49%, with two-family homes close behind at 41% and vacant land at 5% — one of the more evenly split single-family/two-family mixes in this set, closer to a genuine balance between the two housing types than the lopsided splits recorded elsewhere in this bracket.
Land use closely tracks that class mix: one- and two-family use covers 90% of lots, vacant land 5%, and multi-family walk-up use 3%. Overall 93% of lots are coded residential, and the file counts 78,086 homes across the designation — a solid recorded population set against a footprint of roughly 52,000 lots.
Lots here run on the larger side for this bracket: a median of 4,000 square feet, with the 90th percentile reaching 7,315 square feet. Buildings rise to a median of 2 stories, and 0% of recorded buildings climb above 6 floors. Development room is wide — 86% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 0.3 FAR — among the higher headroom shares in this batch. Flood exposure is modest at 6% of lots. None of this designation's recorded stat families come back nulled for coverage, so every share above, from the historic-district overlap to the recent-construction pace, draws on a complete read of the file. This page describes what stands on the recorded stock; the tables above carry the actual floor-area and height permissions, each tied to its governing section of the zoning text.
Bulk rules for R3X
| Context | Residential FAR | Community facility FAR | Heights | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of right§ 23-21 footnote 1: For standard zoning lots with lot area >= 4,000 sq ft, max residential floor area associated with any single dwelling unit shall not exceed an equivalent FAR of 0.60. | Per § 23-332(a): detached single/two-family residence requires two 5 ft side yards. | Per § 23-361(a): in R3X, max residential lot coverage = lot coverage remaining after application of all required yards (no fixed percentage). | Per § 23-321(b), corner lots may reduce one front yard by 5 ft (min 5 ft). Per § 23-321(a), qualifying residential sites with lot width >= 150 ft may reduce by 5 ft. | Per § 23-342(a): detached and zero-lot-line buildings require 20 ft rear yard at or below 75 ft (30 ft above 75 ft where permitted). Semi-detached and attached buildings on lots <40 ft wide require 30 ft; on lots >=40 ft wide, 20 ft at or below 75 ft. Per § 23-342(b), shallow interior lots (<95 ft deep, existing pre-12/15/1961) may reduce by 6 in per ft below 95 (min 10 ft). | 0.75 | 1 | Base 25 ft · Max 35 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-21, § 23-421, § 24-11 |
| Qualifying residential sitePer § 23-21: 'Qualifying residential sites' FAR. Per § 23-333, on qualifying residential sites in R1-R5 no side yards are required (though 5 ft open area along side lot line if provided). Per § 23-321(a), front yard may be reduced by 5 ft on QRS with lot width >= 150 ft (min 5 ft). Per § 23-312(f), no parking permitted in front yard on QRS in R1-R5. | Per § 23-342(a): detached and zero-lot-line buildings require 20 ft rear yard at or below 75 ft (30 ft above 75 ft where permitted). Semi-detached and attached buildings on lots <40 ft wide require 30 ft; on lots >=40 ft wide, 20 ft at or below 75 ft. Per § 23-342(b), shallow interior lots (<95 ft deep, existing pre-12/15/1961) may reduce by 6 in per ft below 95 (min 10 ft). | 1 | 1 | Base 35 ft · Max 35 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-21, § 23-424, § 24-11 |
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 residential districts
Residence districts principally allow housing and community facilities. Bulk rules in the NYC Zoning Resolution (§ 23-) control how much floor area a lot can carry and how tall and close to lot lines a building may be.
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 R3X
- Amboy Road — 223,150 sq ft lot, 0 built FAR
- 45-64 Francis Lewis Boulevard — 41,624 sq ft lot, 0.48 built FAR, built 2008
- 15-20 202 Street — 21,320 sq ft lot, 3.67 built FAR, built 1960
- 1650 Richmond Avenue — 65,000 sq ft lot, 0.71 built FAR, built 1960
- 6420 Amboy Road — 250,000 sq ft lot, 0.28 built FAR, built 1993
- 655 Rossville Avenue — 136,580 sq ft lot, 0.25 built FAR, built 1984
- 5840 Amboy Road — 43,000 sq ft lot, 0.3 built FAR, built 1990
- 800 Manor Road — 75,000 sq ft lot, 0.98 built FAR, built 1979
- 199-25 47 Avenue — 54,182 sq ft lot, 0.36 built FAR, built 1964
- Mill Road — 852,570 sq ft lot, 0 built FAR
- 645 Rossville Avenue — 87,520 sq ft lot, 0.21 built FAR, built 1983
- 61-15 231 Street — 80,480 sq ft lot, 1.08 built FAR, built 1978
R3X — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in R3X?
- 0.75, as of right, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-21, § 23-421, § 24-11. Site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify it — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
- Is R3X a contextual district?
- Yes. R3X is a contextual district — its bulk rules pair floor-area ceilings with prescribed base and maximum building heights intended to mirror existing neighborhood form.
- How many tax lots are zoned R3X?
- 52,339 tax lots citywide carry R3X as their primary zoning designation, per NYC municipal records as of 2026-07-11.
- How much recent construction shows up on lots zoned this way?
- More than any neighboring designation in this batch: 13% of recorded buildings date from 2000 or later, on top of a stock that is 40% postwar-boom construction.
- Are any of these lots in a historic district?
- A small but real share: 1% of these roughly 52,000 lots carry historic-district status, rarer than in most of this bracket's other designations, most of which show none.
- What kind of buildings stand on this designation's lots?
- One-family homes lead at 49%, two-family homes at 41%. 93% of lots are coded residential, holding 78,086 homes.
- Is there recorded development capacity here?
- Yes, widely: 86% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 0.3 FAR.
Keep learning
What do the R3X 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.