| BATTERY PARK CITY SPECIAL DISTRICT |
Resolution Chapter:  84-00 |
Maps: 12a and 12b |
Adoption Date: 12/28/73,
11/13/81 |
The Special Battery Park City District (BPC) was
created, in accordance with a master plan, to govern
extensive residential and commercial development in an
area close to the business core of Lower Manhattan.
The central component of the master plan is an
office complex, flanked by two large residential
neighborhoods extending south to Battery Park and
north to Chambers Street. A continuous esplanade
providing public access to the Hudson River waterfront
is a major element of the plan. The district
regulates permitted uses and bulk within specified zones and establishes special design controls with
respect to front building walls, and building heights
and parking.
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| CLINTON SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 96-00 |
Maps: 8a, 8c and 8d |
Adoption Date: 11/21/74 |
The Special Clinton District (CL), generally between
41st and 58th Streets west of Eighth Avenue, was
created to preserve and strengthen the residential
character of a community bordering midtown,
maintain a broad mix of incomes and ensure that
the community is not adversely affected by new
development. Among other provisions, special regulations
for designated perimeter areas are designed
to provide appropriate transitions between the
district's lower-scale side streets, and the Special
Hudson Yards District to the south and the Special
Midtown District to the east.
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| GARMENT CENTER SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 121-00 |
Maps: 8d |
Adoption Date: 3/26/87 |
The Special Garment Center District (GC) was
created to maintain opportunities for apparel
production, wholesale and showroom uses in designated
Preservation Areas on selected midblocks
between 35th and 40th Streets west of Broadway.
In Preservation Area 1, east of Eighth Avenue, residences
and hotels are not permitted and the conversion
of industrial space to office use is restricted.
Conversion to restricted uses is permitted only by certification of the City Planning Commission that
an equal amount of comparable floor area has been
preserved for specified industrial uses. In Preservation
Area 2, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, conversion
of larger buildings to residential, office or hotel
use is permitted only by authorization of the City
Planning Commission.
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| HUDSON YARDS SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 123-00 |
Maps: 3d, 6a, 6b and 6c |
Adoption Date: Port Morris: 12/10/97, Morrisania: 8/19/03 |
The Special Hudson Yards District (HY) was
established to foster a mix of uses and ensities,
provide new publicly accessible open space, extend the midtown central business district by providing
opportunities for substantial new office development,
reinforce existing residential neighborhoods
and encourage new housing on Manhattan's far
west side. The special district implements a master
plan for the area and calls for two new corridors
for high-density office and residential development
supported by a planned subway line extension, new
parks and an urban boulevard. New mid-density
residential development would form a transition to
existing residential neighborhoods and the Special
Garment Center District to the east.
To achieve the plan's objectives, the special district
mandates a variety of use, bulk and urban design
controls applicable to six subdistricts. In certain
zoning districts, the maximum floor area ratios of
the underlying districts may be increased through
an Inclusionary Housing bonus and a District
Improvement Bonus mechanism that would support
financing of specific capital improvements in the
area. In the substantially commercial subdistrict,
transfers of floor area are also permitted from one
part of the subdistrict to another.
Flexible as-of-right height and setback controls
accommodate large floorplate office buildings and
allow for creative design within the predominantly
commercial zones. Mandated improvements include
required retail use on major corridors, street wall
continuity, pedestrian circulation space, tree planting,
subway entrance easements, and screened
or below-grade parking. Unlike the rest of the
Manhattan Core, where off-street parking is not
required, the Special Hudson Yards District requires
parking for all uses except schools and houses of
worship.
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| LIMITED COMMERCIAL SPECIAL
DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 83-00 |
Maps: 12c |
Adoption Date: 10/9/69 |
The Special Limited Commercial District (LC)
attempts to preserve the character of commercial
areas within historic districts by permitting only
those commercial uses compatible with the historic
district, and by mandating that all commercial uses
be in completely enclosed buildings. In addition,
limitations are placed on the size and illumination
of signs. There is one such special district mapped
in Greenwich Village.
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| LINCOLN SQUARE SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 82-00 |
Maps: 8c |
Adoption Date: 4/24/69 |
The Special Lincoln Square District (L) was established
to enhance the character of the area surrounding
Lincoln Center as an international center for the
performing arts. The district regulates the height of
building walls along certain streets and the types of
commercial uses permitted at street level as a means
of guiding the orderly development of the Lincoln
Square area. Floor area bonuses, by special permit
from the City Planning Commission, are available
for new development that includes subsurface concourse
connections to subways or subway improvements,
and lower-income housing as set forth in the
Inclusionary Housing Program.
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| LITTLE ITALY
SPECIAL
DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 109-00 |
Maps: 12c |
Adoption Date: 2/3/77 |
The Special Little
Italy District (LI)
was established
to preserve and
enhance the historic and commercial character of
this community. Special use regulations protect the
retail area along Mulberry Street. Other regulations
encourage residential rehabilitation and new
development on a scale consistent with existing
buildings, discourage the demolition of noteworthy
buildings, and increase the number of street trees
in the area.
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| LOWER MANHATTAN SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 91-00 |
Maps: 12a, 12b and 12d |
Adoption Date: 8/27/98 |
The Special Lower Manhattan District (LM) was
established to enhance the vitality of Lower
Manhattan, home of the city's oldest central business
district and a burgeoning residential community.
The special district regulations allow for
the conversion of older commercial buildings to
residential use, and encourage a dynamic mix of uses
in the area, while protecting its distinctive skyline
and streetscape. The built character of the area is
enhanced by height and setback regulations and
limitations on the dimensions of tall buildings. The
pedestrian environment is improved by requirements
for retail continuity, pedestrian circulation
space and subway station improvements.
The Special Lower Manhattan District includes the
area south of Murray Street, Chambers Street and
the Brooklyn Bridge, excluding Battery Park City.
Two subareas are located within the special district:
the South Street Seaport Subdistrict and the Historic
and Commercial Core. The South Street Seaport
Subdistrict protects the scale and character of 18th
and 19th century mercantile buildings by allowing
the transfer of development rights from certain
lots to designated receiving lots. The Historic and
Commercial Core seeks to ensure that new development
in the area bounded by Wall Street, Broadway,
Water Street and Whitehall Street will be compatible
with existing buildings that line the Street plan of New
Amsterdam and Colonial New York, a street layout
accorded landmark status by the NYC Landmarks
Preservation Commission.
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| MADISON
AVENUE
PRESERVATION
SPECIAL
DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 99-00 |
Maps: 5d, 6b and 8c |
Adoption Date: 12/20/73 |
The Special Madison Avenue Preservation District
(MP) is intended to preserve and reinforce the
unique character of Madison Avenue and the surrounding
area from 61st to 96th Streets. Bulk and
street wall height provisions limit the height of
new development to the scale of existing buildings
but allow for greater building coverage in the district,
which permits a maximum floor area ratio of 10.0.
Other provisions require a continuous building facade
along Madison Avenue and continuity of selected
retail uses at the ground floor level.
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| MANHATTANVILLE MIXED USE
SPECIAL
DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 104-00 |
Maps: 5c and 6a |
Adoption Date: 12/19/07 |
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| MIDTOWN SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 81-00 |
Maps: 8c and 8d |
Adoption Date: 5/13/82 |
The Special Midtown District (MiD) was established
to guide all development within the midtown
central business district. The special district includes
five subdistricts subject to additional regulations:
the Theatre Subdistrict, the Preservation Subdistrict,
the Fifth Avenue Subdistrict, the Grand Central
Subdistrict and the Penn Center Subdistrict.
The Special Midtown District establishes differing
bulk and density limits for avenue frontages and
midblocks, and for each of the subdistricts depending
on its planning objectives. For example, the
Preservation Subdistrict is not eligible for any FAR
bonuses and its base FAR is lower than elsewhere
in the special district in order to limit development
on certain side streets. Other subdistricts (or areas
outside the subdistricts) may be eligible for an as-of-right
FAR bonus for urban plazas, subway station
improvements, or theater retention and rehabilitation.
Urban design features, such as continuity of
street wall and retail uses, off-street relocation of
subway stairs and provision of on-site pedestrian
circulation spaces, are mandated in selected subdistricts
or in the district as a whole.
The Theatre Subdistrict requires a City Planning
Commission special permit for demolition of certain
legitimate theaters that are not designated
landmarks and a floor area bonus is available,
also by special permit, for rehabilitation of those
theaters. A flexible program for the transfer
of development rights is available to preserve
landmarked and legitimate theaters, and a new
building above a certain size must reserve at
least five percent of its floor space for entertainment
and theater-related uses. Special use andsignage requirements in keeping with the character of the area are applicable throughout the subdistrict.
Large illuminated signs, for example, must
be incorporated into the facades of new buildings
to ensure the continued brilliance of the celebrated
Great White Way.
In the Grand Central Subdistrict, special regulations
govern transfers of development rights and seek to
expand and improve its extensive pedestrian network.
Special use restrictions in the Fifth Avenue
Subdistrict aim to reinforce its character as a showcase
tourist and shopping destination, and signage
regulations enhance the retail uses and transit connections
of the Penn Center Subdistrict.
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| MIXED USE SPECIAL DISTRICTS (Hudson Square: MX-6) |
| Resolution Chapter: 123-00 |
Maps: 12a |
Adoption Date: 8/19/03 |
The Special Mixed Use District (MX) was established
to encourage investment in, and en hance the vitality of,
existing mixed residential and industrial neighborhoods
and to create opportunities for new mixed use
communities. The district permits new residential
and non-residential uses (commercial, community
facility and light industrial) to be developed as-of right
within the same district and, under certain
conditions, to be located side-by-side or within the
same building. It does so by pairing an M1 district
with an R3 through R10 district, allowing for
maximum flexibility in matching zoning districts
to neighborhood planning goals.
Residential uses are generally subject to the bulk
controls of the governing residence district; commercial
and industrial uses are subject to the M1 district
controls, and community facilities to residential
floor area limits. Most light industrial uses are permitted
in the district as-of-right, others are subject
to restrictions and a few are excluded altogether.
Originally established in 1997, the Special
Mixed Use District is mapped in Port Morris
and Morrisania in the Bronx, and in Fulton Ferry
(DUMBO), Flushing/Bedford, Red Hook and
Greenpoint-Williamsburg in Brooklyn.
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| PARK IMPROVEMENT SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 92-00 |
Maps: 5d, 6b, 8c and 9a |
Adoption Date: 4/23/73 |
The Special Park Improvement
District (PI) was
created to preserve the
character and architectural
quality of Fifth and
Park Avenues. It limits the
height of new buildings to
210 feet or 19 stories, whichever
is less, and mandates
street wall continuity.
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| PLANNED COMMUNITY PRESERVATION
SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 103-00 |
Maps: 6a, 9b, 10d, 11b, 14c and 15a |
Adoption Date: 7/18/74 |
The Special Planned Community Preservation
District (PC) designation protects the unique character
of well-planned communities that have been
developed as a unit. Those communities characteristically
have large landscaped open spaces and
a superior relationship of buildings, open spaces,
commercial uses, and pedestrian and vehicular circulation.
No demolition, new development, enlargement
or alteration of landscaping or topography is
permitted within the district except by special permit
of the City Planning Commission. Preservation
districts have been mapped in Sunnyside Gardens
and Fresh Meadows in Queens, Parkchester in the
Bronx and Harlem River Houses in Manhattan.
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| TRANSIT LAND USE SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 95-00 |
Maps: 6b, 8c, 8d, 9a, 12c and 12d |
Adoption Date: 12/28/73 |
The Special Transit Land Use District (TA) relates
development along Second Avenue to a future subway
line. In place of sidewalk obstructions that
impede pedestrian circulation, the special district
requires builders of developments adjoining planned
subway stations to reserve space in their projects,
by providing an easement, for public access to the
subway or other subway-related use. The district is
mapped at locations between Chatham Square in
Chinatown and East 126th Street in Harlem.
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| TRIBECA
MIXED USE SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 111-00 |
Maps: 12a and 12b |
Adoption Date: 6/11/76 |
The Special Tribeca Mixed Use District (TMU),
originally enacted as the Lower Manhattan Mixed Use
District, was established to permit limited residential
development in an otherwise industrial 62-block area
in Manhattan south
of Canal Street. In
the northern portions
of the district
where the underlying
zoning is manufacturing,
certain
older manufacturing
buildings may
be converted to loft dwellings and joint living-work
quarters for artists. Where the underlying zoning is
commercial, new contextual residential development
is permitted.
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| UNION SQUARE
SPECIAL
DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 118-00 |
Maps: 12c |
Adoption Date: 1/10/85 |
The Special Union
Square District (US)
was established to
revitalize the area
around Union Square
by encouraging
mixed use development.
To enhance
the compatibility of new development with existing
buildings and Union Square Park, the district's
urban design provisions mandate ground floor
retail uses, off-street relocation of subway stairs
and continuity of street walls. Special streetscape
and signage controls enhance the physical appearance
of the district. A floor area bonus for subway
improvements is available by special permit
of the City Planning Commission.
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| UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT
SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 85-00 |
Maps: 8d |
Adoption Date: 3/20/70 |
The Special United Nations Development District
(U) implements a development plan for the area
adjacent to the United Nations, consisting primarily
of the United Nations Plaza buildings. A unified
design concept is a major feature of the district
regulations. An increase in the base FAR allows for
special public amenities.
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| WEST CHELSEA SPECIAL DISTRICT |
| Resolution Chapter: 98-00 |
Maps: 8b |
Adoption Date: 3/20/70 |
The Special West Chelsea District (WCh) provides
a regulatory framework for the continued development
of a dynamic mixed residential and commercial
area centered around the public open space to be
created by reuse of the High Line, a former elevated
rail line running north-south the length of the
district. Bounded generally by Tenth and Eleventh
Avenues between West 16th and 30th Streets, the
district contains regulations to facilitate reuse of the
High Line, including a floor area transfer mechanism
to preserve light, air and views as well as floor area
bonuses related to access, structural restoration and
open space development. Special bulk regulations
respond to unique conditions along the High Line,
and the areas surrounding West Chelsea, including
the Hudson River to the west, the higher density
Special Hudson Yards District to the north, and the
lower-scale Chelsea Historic District to the east. An
Inclusionary Housing bonus facilitates development
of affordable housing to ensure an economically
diverse neighborhood.
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