Park Slope Rezoning - New York City Department of City Planning

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Projects & Proposals > Brooklyn > Park Slope

Park Slope Rezoning Proposal - Approved!
Neighborhood Character and Existing Zoning

Introduction | Neighborhood Character & Existing Zoning | Zoning Proposal | Additional Maps

Park Slope is one of Brooklyn's most prized brownstone neighborhoods. It is predominantly residential, characterized by late 19th and early 20th century rowhouses with architectural significance. The neighborhood is home to one of the earliest and largest historic districts in the city. The Park Slope Historic District was established in 1973 and comprises 44 blocks both within the rezoning area and to the north. Approximately 20 percent of the rezoning area is within the Historic District.
4th Street between Eighth Avenue and Prospect Park West	8th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues	Park Slope Historic District View a full size graphic

The rezoning area is currently zoned almost entirely R6 (shown in yellow), with a small area of R7A to the north on Fourth Avenue and R8B on Bartel Pritchard Square in the southeast corner of the study area. R6 is a non-contextual, medium-density residential district with a maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 2.43. The contextual R7A and R8B zoning districts with FARs of 4.0 and height limits of 80' and 75', respectively, were both mapped in the early 1990's.

Existing Zoning

View a full size graphic

Since the mid-1980s, developers in residential neighborhoods have had the option of using a contextual building form if their buildings provided certain amenities. These alternate regulations (called the Quality Housing Program) permit a maximum FAR of 2.2 and building height of 55' on narrow streets in R6 districts, and, on wide streets, a maximum FAR of 3.0 and a maximum building height of 70'. This building on 2nd Street is an example of recent construction that used the optional contextual regulations.

2nd Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues

Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue are the main neighborhood commercial corridors. C1-3 and C2-3 commercial overlays and a C4-3 commercial district are consistent with existing uses. Buildings on these streets are four to six stories tall with ground floor commercial uses and residential apartments on the upper floors. Some neighborhood commercial uses are located in the southern part of Eighth Avenue within a C1-3 commercial overlay, and a few preexisting non-conforming shops are on the northern side of Ninth Street and on the northwestern corner of Bartel Pritchard Square.

Fifth Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets

Seventh Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets

Third and Fourth Avenues are also lined with commercial uses, many of them single-story, auto-oriented uses. There are numerous underbuilt and underutilized former warehouse sites, particularly along Fourth Avenue.

The rezoning area includes a portion of the M1-2 manufacturing district on the western side of Fourth Avenue between 3rd and 7th Streets. This area is dominated by large-scale commercial uses, with auto-repair and community facility uses intermixed.

Fourth Avenue looking north from
6th Street

The other M1-2 district in the study area, to the southwest between Third and Fourth Avenues and 14th and 15th Streets, contains only five lots with a total of 20,000 square feet. This district is surrounded by an R6 residential zoning district and residential uses. The lots are currently in mixed residential and warehouse use.

Introduction | Neighborhood Character & Existing Zoning | Zoning Proposal | Additional Maps

Brief explanations of terms in green italics can be viewed by clicking on the term. Words and phrases followed by an asterisk (*) are defined terms in the Zoning Resolution, primarily in Section 12-10. Consult the Zoning Resolution for the official and legally binding definitions of these words and phrases.