R6A Zoning District — New York City
R6A is a contextual, medium-density General Residence District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
R6A is a contextual, medium-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 3. 15,183 tax lots citywide carry R6A as their primary zoning designation.
Mixed residential-and-commercial land use leads here at 32% of these roughly 15,000 tax lots — a different pattern from the one- and two-family land use common elsewhere in this batch. Walk-up apartment buildings lead the recorded building classes at 30%, with mixed residential-and-commercial buildings close behind at 25%. Construction is largely prewar, with 79% of buildings predating 1940 and a median year of 1928, and buildings run to a median of 3 stories.
What actually stands in this district
This designation's land-use pattern breaks from the rowhouse-heavy mix common elsewhere in this batch. Mixed residential-and-commercial use leads at 32% of these roughly 15,000 tax lots, with multi-family walk-up use close behind at 30% and one- and two-family use at 19%. The building-class order tells a related story: walk-up apartment buildings lead at 30%, mixed residential-and-commercial buildings follow at 25%, and two-family homes add 15% — a class mix weighted more toward mixed-use buildings than the two-family-led designations profiled alongside it. Both the land-use and building-class figures point in the same direction: this is a designation built around mixed and commercial uses more than any single residential type. That alignment between land use and building class is a useful check on the record: two independent measures of the same lots point to the same conclusion.
Construction is old and fairly uniform: 79% of buildings on record predate 1940, and the median construction year is 1928 — among the more prewar-heavy shares in this batch. Only 6% date from the 1945-1975 postwar boom, while 11% have gone up since 2000, a recent-construction share that outpaces the boom era here by a real margin. That gap between a quiet boom period and a comparatively active recent one is more pronounced here than in most of the designations profiled alongside it, and it shows up in only a handful of designations across this batch at anywhere near the same size.
Buildings run a median of 3 stories, with 2% of recorded buildings rising above 6 floors — taller than the low-rise designations that top out at 2 stories elsewhere in this batch. That extra height, paired with a still-high residential share, describes housing carried on somewhat taller buildings than the batch's rowhouse designations. Overall, 86% of lots are coded residential, and the file counts 129,125 homes. Lots run a median of 2,076 square feet, with the largest recorded parcels reaching 7,494 square feet — a slightly denser version, on the numbers, of the mixed-use pattern the land-use figures above already describe.
The federal flood map places 1% of these lots inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area, and 7% carry historic-district status on record. On development, 83% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 1.2 FAR. Each lot's own page carries its recorded specifics individually; the floor-area and height rules that govern this designation, with their citations, sit in the tables above.
Bulk rules for R6A
| Context | Residential FAR | Community facility FAR | Max lot coverage | Heights | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of rightPer § 23-335: detached single/two-family residence requires two 5 ft side yards (a); for all other residences no side yards required (b). R6-R12 districts are predominantly multi-family; the dominant rule is 'no side yards required'. | Per § 23-362(a): max residential lot coverage 80% on interior/through lots; 100% on corner lots. Per § 23-362(b), eligible-site provisions cap at 65% (lots >= 30,000 sf) or 50% (large sites). | 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). | 3 | 3 | 80% | Base 40–65 ft · Max 75 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-22, § 23-432, § 23-431, § 24-11 |
| Qualifying affordable housingPer § 23-22: 'Qualifying affordable housing' or 'qualifying senior housing' FAR (replaces pre-CoY per-MIH-area FAR columns; MIH program area details are in mih_program_areas table). | Per § 23-335: detached single/two-family residence requires two 5 ft side yards (a); for all other residences no side yards required (b). R6-R12 districts are predominantly multi-family; the dominant rule is 'no side yards required'. | Per § 23-362(a): max residential lot coverage 80% on interior/through lots; 100% on corner lots. Per § 23-362(b), eligible-site provisions cap at 65% (lots >= 30,000 sf) or 50% (large sites). | 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). | 3.9 | 3 | 80% | Base 40–65 ft · Max 95 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-22, § 23-432, § 23-431, § 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 R6A
- 123 Melrose Street — 86,512 sq ft lot, 4.45 built FAR, built 2019
- 10 Montieth Street — 84,363 sq ft lot, 3.73 built FAR, built 2017
- 128 5 Avenue — 70,008 sq ft lot, 3.8 built FAR, built 2023
- 218 Front Street — 49,537 sq ft lot, 4.67 built FAR, built 2023
- Hinsdale Street — 18,389 sq ft lot, 15.56 built FAR, built 2025
- 21-05 33 Street — 166,062 sq ft lot, 2.64 built FAR, built 1923
- 190 72 Street — 92,000 sq ft lot, 4.01 built FAR, built 1932
- 45-02 Ditmars Boulevard — 71,934 sq ft lot, 3.26 built FAR, built 1900
- 139-15 83 Avenue — 65,740 sq ft lot, 4.79 built FAR, built 1958
- 47-01 49 Street — 95,195 sq ft lot, 2.42 built FAR, built 1924
- 573 Emerald Street — 26,400 sq ft lot, 5.14 built FAR, built 2021
- 291 Union Street — 24,086 sq ft lot, 3.04 built FAR, built 2008
R6A — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in R6A?
- 3, as of right, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-22, § 23-432, § 23-431, § 24-11. Site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify it — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
- Is R6A a contextual district?
- Yes. R6A 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 R6A?
- 15,183 tax lots citywide carry R6A as their primary zoning designation, per NYC municipal records as of 2026-07-11.
- What is the dominant land use on lots zoned this way?
- Mixed residential-and-commercial use leads at 32% of these roughly 15,000 lots, ahead of multi-family walk-up use at 30% — a different pattern from the one- and two-family land use common elsewhere in this batch.
- What kind of buildings stand here?
- Mostly walk-up apartment buildings, which lead the recorded classes at 30%, followed by mixed residential-and-commercial buildings at 25% and two-family homes at 15%.
- How tall are the buildings on record?
- A median of 3 stories, with 2% of recorded buildings rising above 6 floors — taller than many of the low-rise designations in this batch.
- Is there unused development capacity on these lots?
- Yes, broadly: 83% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 1.2 FAR. The specific rules for any lot are on its own page.
Keep learning
What do the R6A 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.