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The neighborhood of Sunset Park is located south of Green-Wood Cemetery and north of Bay Ridge, and takes its name from the twenty-four acre Sunset Park bounded by 41st and 44th streets and Fifth and Seventh avenues.
The area is served by the N and R trains that run along Fourth Avenue, and the N train also stops at the southeast corner of the neighborhood at 8th Avenue and 62nd Street. The D and M trains also run along Fourth Avenue to 36th Street before turning east to a stop at 9th Avenue and 39th Street, just east of the rezoning area. The area is served by New York City Transit’s 9, 11, 35, 37, 63, and 70 bus lines.
View the  Zoning Comparison Table
Neighborhood Character
Sunset Park is a predominantly residential neighborhood, characterized by row houses on the side streets and larger apartment buildings along the avenues. The blocks within the rezoning area were originally developed in the early 1900s as housing for employees of the industrial businesses along the Upper New York harbor waterfront. Most residential construction halted in the 1930s with the Great Depression, but there has been a recent increase in construction of housing in the neighborhood.
Most blocks in the rezoning area consist of 2 to 4 story row houses and apartment buildings, while some buildings rise to five or six stories. There are also small areas of
detached and semi-detached houses.
These buildings often include ground floor commercial uses when located along the commercial corridors of Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth avenues. Community facilities such as schools and churches are common.
Existing Context
| Residential side streets |
Commercial Corridors |
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| 62nd Street between 5th and 6th avenues in an existing R6 district |
Fifth Avenue at 51st Street in an existing C4-3 district |
| Wide Streets |
Out of Context Development |
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| Fourth Avenue looking north from 59th Street in an existing R6 district |
59th Street between 7th and 8th avenues |
The area is predominantly zoned R6, with a small C4-3 district mapped along a portion of Fifth Avenue. C1 and C2 commercial overlaysoccur on blocks along retail corridors. R6 is a height factor district with no height limits and which permits tower construction on large lots. Building envelopes are regulated by the sky exposure plane. The maximum floor area ratio (FAR) in R6 is 2.43 for residential buildings and 4.8 for community facilities. The optional Quality Housing program permits an FAR of 2.2 on narrow street and 3.0 on wide street and limits building heights to 55 feet and 70 feet, respectively. Off-street parking is required for 70 percent of the dwelling units, , or for 50 percent of the dwelling units when the Quality Housing program is utilized.
A C4-3 district covers 6 full blocks along Fifth Avenue between 50th and 56th streets. C4-3 district regulations permit general commercial uses to an FAR of 3.4 and community facility uses to an FAR of 4.8. Unlike C1 and C2 commercial overlays, C4-3 districts permit commercial uses above the ground floor in buildings with residences, and permit larger and more varied retail establishments such as department stores. Residential uses are also permitted and are largely governed by R6 regulations. C4-3 districts do not have height limits and building envelopes are regulated by the sky exposure plane.
C1-3 and C2-3 commercial overlays are mapped within the R6 district on the commercial corridors of Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth avenues. These overlays permit local retail and service uses.
C1 overlays permit basic small-scale retail shops, grocery stores and offices. C2 overlays permit a slightly broader range of service uses, such as local repair services. C1 and C2 overlays have a maximum FAR of 2.0 when mapped in R6 districts, though commercial uses are limited to the first floor when residences are located above. These overlays require parking for general retail space at rates of between one space per 300 square feet and one space per 1,000 square feet.
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