How to Find Your Zoning District for Any NYC Address (Free)

Short answer: To find the zoning district for any NYC address, open the city's free ZoLa map (zola.planning.nyc.gov), type in the address, and read the district label off the map — something like R5, R6B, or C4-3. That code is the key that unlocks everything you're allowed to build. If you'd rather skip the map and get the answer in plain English, the Zohgo zoning assistant looks it up for you and explains what it means, free.

Why your zoning district is the first thing to find

In New York, almost every question about a property — how big you can build, whether you can add a unit, what businesses are allowed, how tall you can go — is answered by its zoning district. Before FAR, before floor plans, before calling anyone, you need this one code. Everything else follows from it.

Find it with ZoLa (the free city map)

ZoLa (the Zoning & Land Use Application) is the NYC Department of City Planning's official map, and it's free to anyone.

  1. Go to zola.planning.nyc.gov.
  2. Type the address into the search bar.
  3. The map zooms to the lot and shows the zoning district — for example R6B or C2-4.
  4. Check for extras layered on top: a commercial overlay, a special purpose district, a historic district, or a flood zone. Any of these can change what you can do.

How to read the code

The letter tells you the family, and the numbers tell you the intensity:

  • R = Residential. R1 and R2 are the lowest-density (detached houses); the number climbs through R6, R7, R8 up to R10 for dense apartment areas. A letter suffix (R6A, R6B) fine-tunes the height and shape rules.
  • C = Commercial. Ranges from local shopping streets to dense business districts; many C-districts also allow residential above the stores.
  • M = Manufacturing. Industrial and, in some areas, live-work uses.

So “R6B” means a medium-density residential district with a specific contextual height rule, while “C4-3” is a commercial district with its own use and bulk rules. Each code maps to a precise set of numbers in the Zoning Resolution.

Watch out for what the map doesn't shout about

Two lots with the same base district can have very different rights because of what's layered on top. A commercial overlay can add retail options to a residential block. A special district can rewrite the height and use rules. A historic district adds Landmarks review. And since City of Yes for Housing Opportunity (adopted December 5, 2024), several rules — accessory dwelling units, parking, and density near transit — now depend on both your district and your location relative to transit and flood zones. The base code is the start of the answer, not the whole answer.

The faster way: let Zohgo look it up and explain it

Reading ZoLa gives you the code. Turning that code into “here's what you can actually build, and here's what changed under City of Yes” is the part that eats hours. Zohgo does both: enter the address and it identifies your district, overlays, and special-district rules, then explains in plain English what they mean for your goals — with the relevant zoning sections cited so you can check the work.

It's free to start (3 property analyses a month), so you can look up your address right now and get a real read before you commit to anything.

Look up your address on Zohgo →

Zohgo gives you a fast, plain-English read on a property's zoning. It's a head start, not a substitute for a licensed architect or expediter when you move into filing.

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