R7-2 Zoning District — New York City
R7-2 is a medium-density General Residence District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
R7-2 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. 7,893 tax lots citywide carry R7-2 as their primary zoning designation.
This designation carries the oldest recorded building stock in this batch: a median construction year of 1910, with 79% of buildings predating 1940. It also carries the heaviest landmark layering here — 26% of these roughly 7,900 tax lots sit inside a designated historic district — and the tightest recorded headroom, with 60% of lots recording floor area below their allowance. Walk-up apartment buildings lead the building classes at 50%, and buildings run to a median of 4 stories.
What actually stands in this district
Nothing else in this batch dates as far back as this designation's recorded stock. The median construction year is 1910, and 79% of buildings on record predate 1940 — both older marks than any other designation profiled alongside this one. Only 5% date from the 1945-1975 postwar boom, and 9% have gone up since 2000, a quiet recent-construction share on ground this old. That combination of an early median year and a heavily prewar share makes the age profile here the most extreme in the batch.
That age comes with heavy landmark review: 26% of these roughly 7,900 tax lots sit inside a designated historic district, the largest historic-district share of any designation in this batch by a clear margin. Preservation review layered on top of the zoning here is a real factor in what happens to any individual lot, on top of whatever the zoning rules above permit. Age and landmark status track each other closely across this batch, and this designation sits at the far end of both measures.
Walk-up apartment buildings dominate the recorded classes at 50%, well ahead of elevator apartment buildings at 12% and two-family homes at 9%. By land use, multi-family walk-up use covers 41% of these lots, mixed residential-and-commercial use 20%, and one- and two-family use 13%. Buildings run to a median of 4 stories, with 7% rising above 6 floors — taller than the low-rise designations elsewhere in this batch — and 83% of lots are coded residential, with 215,076 homes on record.
The development ledger shows the tightest recorded headroom in this batch: only 60% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 0.7 FAR — consistent with a stock this old, this dense, and this heavily reviewed for landmark status. Lots run a median of 2,498 square feet, with the largest recorded parcels reaching 14,527 square feet, and the federal flood map places 2% of these lots inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area. Each lot's own page carries its recorded specifics, and the floor-area and height rules that govern the designation, with their citations, sit in the tables above.
Bulk rules for R7-2
| 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 | 6.5 | 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 | 6.5 | 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 | 6.5 | — | 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 | 6.5 | 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 R7-2
- 240 1 Avenue — 2,675,000 sq ft lot, 3.34 built FAR, built 1945
- Main Street — 4,227,757 sq ft lot, 1.13 built FAR, built 1975
- 342 1 Avenue — 828,650 sq ft lot, 3.77 built FAR, built 1947
- 288 Delancey Street — 1,206,975 sq ft lot, 2.44 built FAR, built 1962
- 2070 1 Avenue — 519,220 sq ft lot, 3.94 built FAR, built 1974
- 10 Avenue D — 693,945 sq ft lot, 2.39 built FAR, built 1950
- 808 Columbus Avenue — 113,410 sq ft lot, 5.19 built FAR, built 2007
- 510 Main Street — 230,012 sq ft lot, 3.5 built FAR, built 1969
- 20 Madison Street — 781,000 sq ft lot, 1.62 built FAR, built 1950
- 531 Main Street — 97,913 sq ft lot, 6.98 built FAR, built 1975
- 453 Fdr Drive — 212,250 sq ft lot, 4.35 built FAR, built 1955
- 2927 8 Avenue — 746,956 sq ft lot, 3.39 built FAR, built 2004
R7-2 — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in R7-2?
- 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 R7-2 a contextual district?
- No. R7-2 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 R7-2?
- 7,893 tax lots citywide carry R7-2 as their primary zoning designation, per NYC municipal records as of 2026-07-11.
- How old is the building stock in this district?
- The oldest in this batch: a median construction year of 1910, with 79% of buildings predating 1940 and just 9% built since 2000.
- Are these lots inside a historic district?
- Often, yes: 26% of these roughly 7,900 lots sit inside a designated historic district, the largest share of any designation in this batch.
- What building types lead the recorded stock?
- Walk-up apartment buildings, at 50% of the recorded classes, well ahead of elevator apartment buildings at 12%. The median height is 4 stories.
- Is there much unused floor-area capacity here?
- Less than most: only 60% of lots record floor area below their allowance, the tightest recorded headroom in this batch, with a median residual of 0.7 FAR. The specific rules for any lot are on its own page.
Keep learning
What do the R7-2 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.