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New York City Special Purpose Districts
~80 neighborhood-specific overlay districts that modify the underlying zoning rules. Each SPD has its own use, bulk, and design requirements — sometimes 50+ pages of bespoke rules.
How SPDs work
When a Special Purpose District is mapped over part of NYC, its rules layer ON TOP of the underlying zoning district (R6, C4-7, M1-1, etc.). Both rule sets apply simultaneously — but the SPD typically MODIFIES the base rules: relaxes some, tightens others, adds new requirements.
SPDs are created via ULURP rezonings, usually in response to neighborhood-specific needs: protecting theater uses in Times Square, encouraging conversion in Hudson Square, integrating with park master plans in Hudson Yards, preserving carnival/amusement character in Coney.
All 79 SPDs
125
125th Street DistrictArticle IX
AA
Atlantic Avenue DistrictArticle X
BC
Brooklyn Center Development DistrictArticle VIII
BNY
Brooklyn Navy YardArticle XIV
BPC
Battery Park City DistrictArticle VIII
BR
Bay Ridge DistrictArticle XI
BSC
Bay Street Corridor DistrictArticle XIII
C
Grand Concourse DistrictArticle XII
CC
New York City Convention and Exhibition Center Development DistrictArticle IX
CD
City Island DistrictArticle XI
CI
Coney Island DistrictArticle XIII
CL
Clinton DistrictArticle IX
CO
Coney Island Mixed Use DistrictArticle X
CP
College Point DistrictArticle XII
DB
Downtown Brooklyn DistrictArticle X
DFR
Downtown Far Rockaway DistrictArticle XIII
DJ
Downtown Jamaica DistrictArticle XI
EC-1
Enhanced Commercial District - 1Article XIII
EC-4
Enhanced Commercial District - 4Article XIII
EHC
East Harlem Corridors DistrictArticle XIII
ETC
Eastchester-East Tremont Corridor DistrictArticle XIV
F
Fifth Avenue DistrictArticle VIII
FH
Forest Hills DistrictArticle VIII
FM
Fulton Mall DistrictArticle XI
FR
Franklin Street Mixed Use DistrictArticle X
FW
Flushing West DistrictArticle XII
G
Gowanus DistrictArticle XIII
GC
Garment Center DistrictArticle XII
GI
Governors Island DistrictArticle XIII
HP
Hunts Point Special DistrictArticle X
HRP
Hudson River ParkArticle VIII
HRW
Harlem River Waterfront DistrictArticle VIII
HS
Hillsides Preservation DistrictArticle XI
HSQ
Hudson Square DistrictArticle VIII
HY
Hudson Yards DistrictArticle IX
IN
Inwood Special DistrictArticle XIV
J
Jerome Corridor DistrictArticle XIV
L
Lincoln Square DistrictArticle VIII
LC
Limited Commercial DistrictArticle VIII
LI
Little Italy DistrictArticle X
LIC
Long Island City Mixed Use DistrictArticle XI
LM
Lower Manhattan DistrictArticle IX
LMM
Lower Manhattan Mixed Use DistrictArticle XI
MB
DistrictArticle XI
MID
Midtown DistrictArticle VIII
MLD
Manhattan Landing DistrictArticle IX
MMU
Manhattanville Mixed Use DistrictArticle X
MP
Madison Avenue Preservation DistrictArticle IX
MSX
Midtown South Mixed Use DistrictArticle XII
MX-2
Fulton FerryArticle XII
MX-20
Crown Heights West, BrooklynArticle XII
MX-3
Mixed Use District - 3Article XII
MX-8
Mixed Use District - 8Article XII
MX-9
Northern Hunters Point Waterfront, QueensArticle XII
N
Northside Mixed Use DistrictArticle IX
NA-1
Natural Area District - 1Article X
NA-2
Natural Area District - 2Article X
NA-3
Natural Area District - 3Article X
NA-4
Natural Area District - 4Article X
OP
Ocean Parkway DistrictArticle XI
P
Park DistrictArticle IX
PC
Planned Community Preservation DistrictArticle X
PI
Park Improvement DistrictArticle IX
S
South Street Seaport DistrictArticle VIII
SB
Sheepshead Bay DistrictArticle IX
SG
St. George DistrictArticle XII
SHP
Southern Hunters Point DistrictArticle XII
SNX
SoHo-NoHo Mixed Use DistrictArticle XIV
SRD
South Richmond Development DistrictArticle X
SRI
Southern Roosevelt Island DistrictArticle XIII
SV-1
Scenic View DistrictArticle X
SW
Stapleton Waterfront DistrictArticle XI
T
Theater DistrictArticle VIII
TA
Transit Land Use DistrictArticle IX
TMU
Tribeca Mixed Use DistrictArticle XI
U
United Nations Development DistrictArticle VIII
US
Union Square DistrictArticle XI
WP
Willets Point DistrictArticle XII
Y
Yorkville - East 86th Street DistrictArticle X