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The Department of City Planning proposes a zoning map change for approximately 32 blocks in the Cord Meyer section of the central Queens neighborhood of Forest Hills in Community District 6. The Cord Meyer-Forest Hills rezoning area is generally bounded by 66th Avenue and 67th Road to the north, Grand Central Parkway to the east, 72nd Road to the south, and 108th Street to the west. The entire area is currently zoned R1-2.

The rezoning area consists primarily of single-family detached houses, the majority of which were built between 1910 and 1940. Over the last few years, Cord Meyer-Forest Hills has experienced development pressure largely due to outdated zoning that has remained unchanged since 1961. In recent years, houses have been demolished and replaced with larger and taller structures that are out-of-scale with the surrounding neighborhood.

The proposed rezoning aims to protect the neighborhood’s built character by ensuring future single-family building envelopes are more predictable and reflect the prevailing scale. This study was initiated in response to community concern that recent residential development is inconsistent with the neighborhood’s established character.

Typical single-family detached houses on 68th Avenue.	Typical single-family detached houses on 69th Road.