New York City has many Special Zoning Districts. The United Nations Development District has its own special zoning regulations applicable only in this location.
Special United Nations Development District
The underlying zoning regulations within the Special United Nations Development District (U) are superseded by the special regulations. The requirements for C5-3 Zoning will apply with all special modifications applicable in the United Nations Zoning District.
United Nations Zoning Regulations in NYC
Use Regulations
The following uses are added to any allowable uses for the developments in United Nations Special Zoning District.
- Auditoriums, with unlimited capacity
- Automobile rental establishments
- Eating or drinking establishments
- Parking Facilities Accessory Group
- up to 380 parking spaces for automobiles for residential, hotels, foreign missions, and United Nations related uses
- Photographic developing or printing
- Printing or publishing
- Public Parking Lots
- Recreational Uses
- Indoor Skating Rinks
- Commercial Swimming Pools
- Indoor Tennis Courts
- Theaters, with unlimited capacity
Zoning Regulations for Building Bulk
The Bulk of a building is the general shape and size for the building. This is often referred to as the building envelope. The Special United Nations Development Zoning District have special Bulk Regulations.
Floor Area Ratio
The Floor Area Ratio for the United Nations cannot exceed 15 for the entire Special District.
Buildings on the South Side of 44th st within the Special United Nations Development District cannot be more than 200,000 square feet. Not more than 61 square feet of floor area or “Air Rights” may be transferred.
Height and Setback
There are other Bulk Regulations such as special setback requirements.
There are restrictions to height and the number of stories within a building. The height requirement will vary based on the exact location of the building.
Special United Nations Development District
As an architect, I study Building Codes and Zoning Codes closely, but these are complicated and quite involved issues. In this article we reviewed some of the basic concepts with regards to The Special United National Zoning District. This post does not assume to cover every possible issue or condition, but provide a general overview of the topic.
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Thank you for reading our blog post on the Special United Nations Zoning District Requirements.
I hope this was helpful. Please leave questions and comments below. If you would like to speak with an architect, you can Contact Fontan Architecture directly.
This post was written by Jorge Fontan AIA a Registered Architect and owner of New York City architecture firm Fontan Architecture. Jorge Fontan has earned 3 degrees in the study of architecture including two degrees from the City University of New York and a Masters Degree in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University. Jorge has a background in construction and has been practicing architecture for 20 years where he has designed renovations and new developments of various building types.
