R7-3 Zoning District — New York City
R7-3 is a medium-density General Residence District (NYC Zoning Resolution § 11-122) in New York City.
R7-3 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 5. 52 tax lots citywide carry R7-3 as their primary zoning designation.
This is a rare designation — roughly 52 tax lots citywide, the smallest count in this batch — and an unusual one: 38% of building classes are coded vacant land, only 27% of lots are coded residential, and the file carries no reliable year-built or floor-count data here. Lots run enormous, a median of 28,275 square feet, and 65% sit inside the mapped federal flood zone, the highest share recorded in this batch.
What actually stands in this district
This designation is the smallest and the least conventional in this batch. Roughly 52 tax lots carry it citywide, and the underlying records carry no reliable year-built or floor-count coverage for these lots at all — an absence in the file, not a claim that no buildings stand or that none have height. What the records do carry describes a largely vacant, low-density footprint: 38% of building classes are coded vacant land, and only 27% of lots overall are coded residential, with just 4,409 homes on record.
By land use, vacant land accounts for 38% of these lots, mixed residential-and-commercial use 23%, and parking use 12% — a mix weighted toward open and underused ground rather than built structures. Among the building classes that are recorded, vacant land leads at 38%, with a further 12% coded as elevator apartment buildings and 13% in a class this batch does not decode. That land-use and building-class agreement on vacant land, at the same 38% figure in both mixes, is a level of consistency few other designations in this batch show.
Lot sizes here dwarf every other designation in this batch: a median of 28,275 square feet, and the largest recorded parcels reach 98,354 square feet — several times the median lot size recorded almost anywhere else in this batch. Ground at that scale is consistent with the vacant and parking-heavy land-use mix described above, and with a designation carrying so few lots to begin with.
The federal flood map places 65% of these lots inside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area, by far the highest share of any designation in this batch — a statement about the regulatory boundary drawn on that map, not a ledger of which individual lots have taken on water. On development, 81% of lots record floor area below their allowance, with a median residual of 5 FAR, the widest recorded gap in this batch. None of these lots, 0%, carry historic-district status on record. Each lot's own page carries whatever is on file individually, and the floor-area and height rules that govern this designation, with their citations, sit in the tables above.
Bulk rules for R7-3
| 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). | 5 | 6.5 | 80% | Base 60–95 ft · Max 125 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). | 6 | 6.5 | 80% | Base 60–105 ft · Max 145 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 R7-3
- 2-21 Malt Drive — 130,916 sq ft lot, 6.43 built FAR, built 2022
- 420 Kent Avenue — 79,918 sq ft lot, 6.8 built FAR, built 2016
- 11 Wharf Way — 98,354 sq ft lot, 6.23 built FAR, built 2023
- 2-20 Malt Drive — 195,506 sq ft lot, 3.02 built FAR, built 2022
- 1-02 26 Avenue — 54,852 sq ft lot, 7.38 built FAR, built 2016
- 1 Ocean Drive — 69,848 sq ft lot, 6.47 built FAR, built 2018
- 416 Kent Avenue — 44,704 sq ft lot, 5.49 built FAR, built 2016
- 26-50 1st Street — 147,926 sq ft lot, 2.45 built FAR, built 2023
- 440 Kent Avenue — 18,352 sq ft lot, 9.39 built FAR, built 2003
- 450 Kent Avenue — 18,640 sq ft lot, 9.72 built FAR, built 2003
- 446 Kent Avenue — 10,704 sq ft lot, 8.86 built FAR, built 2003
- 341 10 Street — 25,730 sq ft lot, 6.43 built FAR, built 1968
R7-3 — quick questions
- What is the maximum residential FAR in R7-3?
- 5, 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 R7-3 a contextual district?
- No. R7-3 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 R7-3?
- 52 tax lots citywide carry R7-3 as their primary zoning designation, per NYC municipal records as of 2026-07-11.
- How many lots carry this designation?
- Very few: roughly 52 tax lots citywide, the smallest count of any designation in this batch.
- How old are the buildings here?
- Unknown on the record: the file carries no reliable year-built or floor-count data for these lots, an absence in the record rather than a claim about what stands here.
- Are these lots in a flood zone?
- Substantially, yes: 65% of these lots sit inside the mapped federal flood zone, the highest share of any designation in this batch. That's a statement about the regulatory map, not a record of actual flooding.
- How large are the lots carrying this designation?
- Very large: a median of 28,275 square feet, with the largest recorded parcels reaching 98,354 square feet — far bigger than the typical lot recorded elsewhere in this batch.
Keep learning
What do the R7-3 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.