NYC Development Site Screener
Type any NYC address or BBL and get a screening-grade read on the zoning envelope, unused FAR, and as-of-right buildable square footage. Every number is computed from official city data and shown with its source.
Free, no sign-up. Screening-grade analysis from public records, not a zoning analysis, appraisal, or tax opinion. How it works and what it refuses to do
How it works
Enter an address or a borough-block-lot number. The screener resolves it to a tax lot, pulls the lot’s record from the Department of City Planning’s PLUTO dataset, and computes the residential zoning envelope from FAR values transcribed directly from the Zoning Resolution, including the December 2024 City of Yes changes and the affordable-housing (UAP) envelope. Anything it doesn’t model, like special purpose districts, landmarks, or split lots, gets flagged for manual review instead of silently computed. Every figure carries its source and data vintage.
Limitations: read before relying on anything above
This screener does not model special purpose districts, Mandatory Inclusionary Housing mapped areas, inclusionary air rights, zoning-lot mergers or air-rights transfers, the sliver law, height and setback rules, Zoning for Quality and Affordability nuances, landmark constraints, off-street parking requirements, waterfront zoning, or zoning floor-area deductions. PLUTO building areas are gross building area, not zoning floor area, so unused-FAR figures are a screening-grade approximation. Actual development capacity requires a zoning analysis by an architect or zoning attorney. Assessed values are Department of Finance figures, not market values. Ownership and sales history reflects recorded ACRIS documents only: entity-level transfers (sales of the LLC that owns the property) and unrecorded agreements do not appear, and condominium activity is spread across unit lots. Nothing here is a zoning analysis, appraisal, title report, or tax opinion.
Building or holding in NYC
NYC vouchers pay up to $3,058 for a 2BR and $3,811 for a 3BR
CityFHEPS, Section 8, FHEPS, and HASA tenants apply through VoucherMatch with the voucher type and household size shown up front. Listing is free, and payment standards are set per bedroom count, not by neighborhood.
Frequently asked questions
What does this screener compute?
For any NYC tax lot it shows the mapped zoning district, the maximum residential floor area ratio from the Zoning Resolution, the as-of-right buildable square footage on the lot, the same figures under the affordable-housing envelope, and how much of that capacity the existing building already uses. Every number is computed deterministically from official city data and shown with its source.
Where does the data come from?
Lot data comes from PLUTO, the Department of City Planning tax-lot dataset, queried live from NYC Open Data. FAR values are transcribed by hand from the Zoning Resolution text at zr.planning.nyc.gov, including the December 2024 City of Yes amendments, with the section and verification date cited on every screening. Addresses resolve to tax lots through NYC Planning GeoSearch.
What is unused FAR?
FAR, floor area ratio, is the multiple of lot area a building may contain. A 10,000 square foot lot at FAR 4.0 allows roughly 40,000 zoning square feet. If the existing building is 15,000 square feet, about 25,000 square feet of capacity is unused. This screener approximates that using PLUTO gross building area, which is not the same as zoning floor area, so treat it as a screening figure.
Why does my lot say manual review required?
The screener refuses to compute through situations it does not model: special purpose districts, limited height districts, landmarks and historic districts, split-zoned lots, condominium lots, and districts without a verified entry in its zoning table. In those cases it flags the lot and tells you why, rather than guessing.
Is this a zoning analysis or legal advice?
No. It is a screening-grade analysis from public records. It does not model special districts, air-rights transfers, height and setback rules, or zoning floor-area deductions. Confirm anything you would act on with a zoning attorney or architect.