R7-1 Zoning District — New York City
R7-1 is a medium-density General Residence District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
R7-1 is a 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 3.44. 13,894 tax lots citywide carry R7-1 as their primary zoning designation.
Lot sizes here spread far wider than the median implies: a median of 2,625 square feet, but the largest recorded parcels reach 15,480 square feet — among the widest recorded spreads in this batch. Walk-up apartment buildings lead the building classes at 35%, but elevator apartment buildings register a real 14% share on these roughly 14,000 tax lots. Construction spans real range too: 60% of buildings predate 1940, while 14% have gone up since 2000.
What actually stands in this district
Lot sizes on this designation spread further than the median alone suggests. Half of these roughly 14,000 tax lots run below a median of 2,625 square feet, similar to the tighter designations elsewhere in this batch, but the largest recorded parcels reach 15,480 square feet — one of the widest recorded gaps between typical and large lots in this batch, describing a mix of small parcels and much larger assembled ground within the same designation. Few other designations profiled here show that same distance between their median and their upper range.
Walk-up apartment buildings lead the recorded classes at 35%, followed by two-family homes at 23% — but elevator apartment buildings register a real 14% share, notably more elevator presence than the two-family-led designations profiled alongside this one. By land use, multi-family walk-up use covers 33% of these lots, one- and two-family use 31%, and multi-family elevator use 12% — that elevator share appearing in both the class mix and the land-use mix together, a pairing that shows up less often than either figure alone might suggest.
Construction spans a real range: the median year is 1930, with 60% of buildings on record predating 1940 and 8% from the 1945-1975 postwar boom. A further 14% have gone up since 2000, among the higher recent-construction shares in this batch. Buildings run to a median of 3 stories, with 5% rising above 6 floors, and 86% of lots overall are coded residential, with 261,586 homes on record.
None of these lots, 0%, sit inside the mapped federal flood zone, and 5% carry historic-district status on record. On development, 78% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 2 FAR — one of the wider recorded gaps in this batch. Each lot's own page carries its recorded specifics individually, and the floor-area and height rules that govern this designation, with their citations, sit in the tables above.
The elevator-building presence described above is worth reading alongside the wide lot-size spread noted at the start of this profile: a designation running from a 2,625-square-foot median lot to parcels of 15,480 square feet has room across its roughly 14,000 lots for both the two-family and walk-up buildings that dominate the recorded classes and the smaller elevator-served share layered among them. The 78% of lots recording headroom, at a comparatively wide 2 FAR median residual, sits on that same varied lot fabric, meaning the recorded development room here is not confined to any single lot size or building type but spread across a genuinely mixed file.
Bulk rules for R7-1
| 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). | 3.44 | 4.8 | 80% | Base 40–65 ft · Max 75 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-22, § 23-432 footnote 2, § 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). | 5.01 | 4.8 | 80% | Base 40–85 ft · Max 105 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-22, § 23-432 footnote 2, § 23-431, § 24-11 |
| Qualifying affordable housing — wide streetWide-street qualifying treatment per §23-432 footnote 1 (within 100 ft of wide street); qualifying affordable housing / qualifying senior housing columns. This context was inserted because 4a-i did not have a wide-street qualifying row. | 5.01 | 4.8 | — | Base 40–85 ft · Max 115 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-432 footnote 1, § 23-431, § 24-11 |
| Wide street§ 23-22 footnote 1: For zoning lots, or portions thereof, located within 100 ft of a wide street. QAH FAR (5.01) does not differ from non-wide-street value. | 4 | 4.8 | 80% | Base 40–75 ft · Max 85 ft | NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-22 footnote 1, § 23-432 footnote 1, § 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 R7-1
- 17-20 Village Lane — 327,013 sq ft lot, 3.65 built FAR, built 2020
- 104-20 Queens Boulevard — 259,946 sq ft lot, 6.7 built FAR, built 1960
- 175 Adams Street — 313,647 sq ft lot, 2.82 built FAR, built 1950
- 97-40 62 Drive — 360,840 sq ft lot, 2.98 built FAR, built 1955
- 123 Linden Boulevard — 32,125 sq ft lot, 11.42 built FAR, built 2017
- 30 Front Street — 52,171 sq ft lot, 5.35 built FAR, built 2019
- 44 Pineapple Street — 23,325 sq ft lot, 18.91 built FAR, built 1929
- 34-46 Vernon Blvd — 86,600 sq ft lot, 3.66 built FAR, built 2014
- 111 Clymer Street — 220,071 sq ft lot, 2.54 built FAR, built 1974
- 180 Myrtle Avenue — 37,753 sq ft lot, 6.33 built FAR, built 2014
- 1720 Bedford Avenue — 250,325 sq ft lot, 5.73 built FAR, built 1960
- 99-40 63 Road — 136,433 sq ft lot, 4.23 built FAR, built 1952
R7-1 — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in R7-1?
- 3.44, as of right, per NYC Zoning Resolution § 23-22, § 23-432 footnote 2, § 23-431, § 24-11. Site-specific overlays, special districts, and waterfront rules can modify it — run a full lookup for a specific lot.
- Is R7-1 a contextual district?
- No. R7-1 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 R7-1?
- 13,894 tax lots citywide carry R7-1 as their primary zoning designation, per NYC municipal records as of 2026-07-11.
- How big are the lots in this district?
- More varied than the median suggests: a median of 2,625 square feet, but the largest recorded parcels reach 15,480 square feet — one of the wider recorded spreads in this batch.
- Are there elevator apartment buildings here?
- Yes, a real share: elevator apartment buildings make up 14% of the recorded classes, and multi-family elevator use covers 12% of these roughly 14,000 lots, more than most designations in this batch show.
- How old are the buildings on record?
- A real spread: the median year is 1930, with 60% predating 1940, 8% from the 1945-1975 boom, and 14% built since 2000.
- Is there unused floor-area capacity on these lots?
- Yes: 78% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 2 FAR. The governing rules for any specific lot are on its own page.
Keep learning
What do the R7-1 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.