R4 Zoning District — New York City
R4 is a low-density General Residence District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
R4 is a low-density General 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 1. 72,954 tax lots citywide carry R4 as their primary zoning designation.
Two-family homes, not one-family houses, lead the recorded building stock on lots carrying this designation — 41% against 38%, with walk-up apartment buildings adding a further 13%. These roughly 73,000 lots carry the lowest flood share in this batch, just 1%, and 95% are coded residential, holding 189,908 recorded homes. The median construction year is 1940, and 62% of lots record floor area below their allowance.
What actually stands in this district
Most of the low-rise designations in this bracket record one-family homes as the leading building class. This one is different: two-family homes lead at 41%, ahead of one-family homes at 38%, with walk-up apartment buildings adding a further 13% — a genuinely mixed low-rise fabric rather than a single-family-dominant one. That order carries through to land use, where one- and two-family use still covers 79% of lots, but multi-family walk-up use reaches 14%, a larger multi-family land-use share than several of the more single-family-concentrated designations in this batch record.
The designation is mapped across roughly 73,000 tax lots citywide, one of the larger footprints in this set. Mixed residential-and-commercial use adds a further 2% of the land-use file. Overall 95% of lots are coded residential, and the file counts 189,908 homes across the designation — one of the higher recorded totals in this batch, consistent with a building-class mix that leans toward two-family and walk-up construction rather than single detached houses.
The construction record centers on 1940 as the median year, with 46% of recorded buildings predating that year and 37% dating from the 1945-1975 postwar boom — a stock built up steadily across both eras rather than concentrated in one. Just 5% of buildings on record have gone up since 2000, one of the slower recent-construction paces in this batch.
Flood exposure is the lowest recorded in this batch: just 1% of these roughly 73,000 lots sit inside the mapped federal flood zone. A further 1% carry historic-district status. Lots run compact, with a median of 2,200 square feet and a 90th percentile of 4,000 square feet — among the smaller lot profiles in this set. Development room is present but moderate: 62% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 0.2 FAR. Buildings rise to a median of 2 stories, with 0% above 6 floors. A given lot's own recorded numbers live on its own page; the floor-area and height limits that actually apply to this designation, citations included, are found above.
Set against the two-family-led composition above, the 1% historic-district share and the batch's lowest flood exposure, also 1%, describe a designation whose overlays are as modest as its building mix is mixed. With 189,908 recorded homes spread across roughly 73,000 lots, the file's scale rests less on any single tall or dense building type than on the sheer breadth of two-family and walk-up construction recorded across the designation.
Bulk rules for R4
| Context | Residential FAR | Community facility FAR | Max lot coverage | Heights | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of rightPer § 23-332: detached (a) requires two 5 ft side yards; semi-detached / zero-lot-line (b) requires one 5 ft side yard; other residences (c) require no side yards in R4. Building type determines requirement. | Per § 23-361(a): single/two-family residence on interior/through lot in R4. Corner lot 80%; multiple dwelling (where permitted) 80%/100%. | 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). | 1 | 2 | 60% | Max 35 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-21, § 23-422(a), § 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). | 1.5 | 2 | 60% | Base 35 ft · Max 45 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 R4
- Beach 149 Street — 2,872,200 sq ft lot, 0 built FAR
- 188-02 64 Avenue — 1,370,000 sq ft lot, 0.9 built FAR, built 1947
- 326 Rockaway Point Boulevard — 11,050,400 sq ft lot, 0 built FAR, built 1900
- 550 Balcom Avenue — 856,440 sq ft lot, 1.37 built FAR, built 1952
- 64-05 186 Lane — 1,223,830 sq ft lot, 0.5 built FAR, built 1950
- 242-02 61 Avenue — 547,200 sq ft lot, 0.63 built FAR, built 1964
- 56-10 Beach Channel Drive — 916,193 sq ft lot, 0.9 built FAR, built 1960
- 189-15 73 Avenue — 1,002,000 sq ft lot, 0.48 built FAR, built 1949
- 81-26 150 Street — 1,584,225 sq ft lot, 0.44 built FAR, built 1947
- 630 West 246 Street — 323,850 sq ft lot, 1.37 built FAR, built 1958
- 217-02 Breezy Point Blvd — 12,253,428 sq ft lot, 0.13 built FAR, built 1938
- 2700 Linden Boulevard — 470,250 sq ft lot, 1.51 built FAR, built 1963
R4 — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in R4?
- 1, as of right, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-21, § 23-422(a), § 24-11. Site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify it — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
- Is R4 a contextual district?
- No. R4 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 R4?
- 72,954 tax lots citywide carry R4 as their primary zoning designation, per NYC municipal records as of 2026-07-11.
- What kind of buildings are most common on lots zoned this way?
- Two-family homes lead at 41%, just ahead of one-family homes at 38%, with walk-up apartment buildings adding 13% — a more mixed mix than several neighboring designations in this bracket.
- Are these lots in a flood zone?
- Rarely: just 1% of these roughly 73,000 lots sit inside the mapped federal flood zone, the lowest share recorded in this batch.
- How old are the buildings here?
- A median construction year of 1940, with 46% predating that year and 37% from the 1945-1975 postwar boom. Just 5% have gone up since 2000.
- Is there recorded room to build more?
- Some: 62% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 0.2 FAR.
Keep learning
What do the R4 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.