Type a NYC zoning district code (e.g. R6A, C4-7, M1-2A, R11). Get a plain-English breakdown of what it allows, what it limits, and what's been built there recently.
Pro tip
Post-City-of-Yes (Dec 2024): R11, R11A, R12 are the new high-density Residence Districts. M1-2A through M3-2A are the new mixed-use Manufacturing Districts.
NYC has 223 distinct zoning districts. They look cryptic — , , , — but every code follows a strict pattern. Once you know the pattern, you can read any code at a glance and know roughly what you can build there before opening a single ZR section.
R6A
C4-7
M1-2A
R11
The three-letter family
The first letter tells you the use family — what kind of activity the district is primarily for:
R = Residence. Homes, apartments, accessory community-facility uses. ~70% of NYC's mapped area.
C = Commercial. Retail, offices, hotels, mixed-use with residential above. The mixed-use districts (C1, C2 overlays) are the most common commercial type.
M = Manufacturing. Light industry, warehouses, and — new post-City-of-Yes (Dec 2024) — mixed-use M-A variants that allow Use Group II residences as-of-right alongside light manufacturing.
There are no other top-level letters. Special purpose districts get their own multi-letter codes (HY = Hudson Yards, LMA = Lower Manhattan, etc.) which overlay onto the base R/C/M.
The density number
The first digit after the letter is roughly a density score. Higher = more intense:
R1, R2, R3, R4 — low-density residential, mostly detached or semi-detached single-family houses in the outer boroughs.
R5 — bridge zone, row houses, small apartments.
R6, R7 — mid-density, 5-9 story apartment buildings. The bread and butter of NYC residential.
R11, R12 — post-CoY high-density (new in 2024). R11 = 12.0 FAR, R12 = 15.0 FAR — the highest residential density NYC has ever zoned. These can ONLY be mapped by the City Planning Commission, typically with Mandatory Inclusionary Housing attached. Private property owners can't request R12 directly.
Commercial uses a different scale: C1 through C8 with C1-C2 being neighborhood-scale retail overlays, C4-C6 being regional or downtown commercial, and C8 being heavy commercial. Manufacturing uses M1 (light), M2 (medium), M3 (heavy).
The suffix letter
If a letter appears AFTER the number (R6A, R7X, C4-7A) it's a contextual variant — a flavor of the base district designed to match the existing built character of a neighborhood.
A — Quality-Housing rules. Predictable street walls, height cap, no rear-setback shenanigans. The most common contextual.
B — Brownstone-scale. The narrowest contextual, typical street wall + low height cap.
X — Tower-on-base. Taller building on a smaller footprint. Used in upzoning corridors.
D — Quality-Housing tower variant in some R6/R7 contexts.
Reading R6A: R = residential, 6 = mid-density, A = quality-housing variant = predictable street wall, ~70ft typical height. Now you know roughly what R6A allows BEFORE looking up any specific parameters.
The hyphenated number (commercial + manufacturing)
Commercial and manufacturing districts often have a second number after a hyphen: C4-2, C4-7, M1-1, M1-5. This number is the FAR/density tier WITHIN that family. Higher = bigger. C4-1 is the lowest density (~1.0 FAR commercial), C4-7 is the highest (~10.0 FAR). Same pattern for M1 (M1-1 through M1-6 by density).
So C4-7 reads as: C = commercial, 4 = general mixed-use, -7 = highest density within the C4 family. Pre-CoY this was the most permissive Midtown commercial classification.
Post-City-of-Yes additions
City of Yes Housing Opportunity (effective December 5, 2024) added several new district types to support the city's affordable-housing push:
R11, R11A, R12 — new high-density residential districts. Up to 15.0 FAR residential (R12). Only CPC-mapped, typically with MIH.
M-A variants — M1-1A, M1-2A, M1-3A, M1-4A, M1-5A, M2-1A, M2-2A, M3-2A. These are mixed-use Manufacturing Districts that allow Use Group II residences AS-OF-RIGHT alongside light manufacturing. Enables live/work in former industrial-only zones.
The 12-10 glossary, the use-group structure (now Roman I-X consolidated from legacy 1-18), and the Universal Affordability Preference (UAP) bonus FAR mechanism all changed simultaneously. Any analysis of a parcel post-Dec 5, 2024 should assume the post-CoY framework unless you're specifically researching a pre-CoY entitlement.
Overlays and special districts
A parcel can sit under multiple layers of zoning at once:
The base district (R6A, C4-7, etc.) sets bulk + use baseline.
Commercial overlays (C1-1 through C2-5) layered onto an R district allow ground-floor retail — common on retail corridors.
Special Purpose Districts (SPDs) — ~85 mapped districts (Hudson Yards HY, Lower Manhattan LMA, Coney Island CI, etc.) — modify the base rules with extra requirements or bonuses.
MIH areas require new developments above a size threshold to include 25-30% affordable housing.
The MuniMind district page surfaces every layer on a single screen. When in doubt, treat the most restrictive layer as binding.
What to do next
If you came here from a chat answer or a parcel lookup, the district code is the foundation for everything else: what use groups are allowed, what FAR + height + setback you get, what overlays apply. Use the search box at the top of this page to decode any code, then click through to the full district page for the complete specification + map polygon + recent BSA/CPC decisions citing that district.
What does the letter in a district code mean (R, C, M)?
The leading letter is the use family: R = Residence (homes, apartments), C = Commercial (retail, offices, mixed-use), M = Manufacturing (light industry, plus post-CoY M-A mixed-use). There are no other top-level letters.
Why does C4-7 have a hyphen and a number?
The number after the hyphen is the FAR/density tier within the C-family. C4-1 is the lowest density (~1.0 FAR commercial), C4-7 the highest (~10.0 FAR). Same hyphen pattern applies to M-districts (M1-1 through M1-6, etc.).
What is R11 and R12?
R11 and R12 are the new high-density Residence Districts introduced by City of Yes Housing Opportunity (Dec 2024). R11 = 12.0 FAR; R12 = 15.0 FAR. They can only be CPC-mapped (typically with MIH affordable-housing requirements attached) — private owners can't request R12 directly.
Do M-districts allow housing?
Standard M1/M2/M3 do NOT allow residential. The new post-CoY M-A variants (M1-1A through M3-2A) DO allow Use Group II residences AS-OF-RIGHT alongside light manufacturing — enabling live/work in former industrial-only zones.
Where can I look up my BBL's actual zoning district?
Use ZoLa (zola.planning.nyc.gov) for the official map, or any per-parcel page on MuniMind shows the underlying zonedist1 + any overlay districts. Click into a district to see its full bulk + use rules.